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FRESCO PAINTING
FRESCO
PAINTING
Modern Methods and Techniques for
Painting in Fresco and Secco
by
OLLE NORDMARK
AMERICAN ARTISTS GROUP, INC.
NEW YORK
FRESCO PAINTING
COPYRIGHT, 1947, BY
AMERICAN ARTISTS GROUP, INC.
AH rights reserved, including the right to repro-
duce this booJc or portions thereof in any form,
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PREFACE
This book has been written for the painter in fresco, who
wishes to acquire enough knowledge of the craft to enable him
to supervise, guide and efficiently work with the craftsmen
plasterers who are put in charge of the preparation of his
materials and wall and who will assist him as the finishing
plasterers throughout the period of painting.
It should be remembered that the surface of the so-called
"Intonaco," must yield the best possible working conditions,
giving the painter the longest possible time to execute the part
of the wall intended for a day's work. In order that such a
condition should prevail, a thorough knowledge of the materials
used in the practice of fresco painting must be acquired through
the practical utilization of a series of operations to obtain
necessary ultimate results.
Stress is, therefore, laid upon the fact that the painter him-
self must guide and guard the preparation of his materials and
the different layers of mortar which build up the fresco ground,
the foundation for the painting. Also, if he is not prepared
himself to do the work, he must be able to give final full direc-
tions for the "Intonaco" or painting surface, the richness of
the mixing and its perfect application which in itself requires
experienced handling of tools in the piece-meal plastering of
the wall, all of which is the groundwork for the actual painting.
This HANDBOOK, therefore, will endeavor to explain the
practice of fresco and fresco-secco painting in connection and
collaboration with the trade from which it was derived the
building trade.
OLLE NORDMAKK
CONTENTS
i WALLS 3
ii PREPARATION OF MORTAR MATERIALS 9
in MORTAR MIXING 17
iv PLASTERING THE FRESCO GROUND 22
v FRESCO GROUNDS 32
vi INTONACO 38
vii PRELIMINARY WORK TO PAINTING THE FRESCO . . 43
viii PAINTING THE FRESCO ... 67
ix SECCO PAINTING IN LIMECOLOR 87
x MODELING OF RELIEF IN MORTAR 95
xi RETOUCHING 101
xii PRELIMINARY WORK FOR PLASTERING ..... 108
xiii THE SCAFFOLD 112
SOURCE OF SUPPLIES 115
INDEX - 121
COLOR PLATES
FIRST STEPS IN FRESCO PAINTING 80
by OlXE NORDMARK
COMPLETED FRESCO PAINTING 81
by OLLE NORDMARK
FRESCOS IN POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON, D. C 82
by REGINALD MARSH
FRESCOS IN POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON, D. C 83
by REGINALD MARSH
FRESCOS IN DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE BUILDING,
WASHINGTON, D. C 84
by HENRY VARNUM POOR
FRESCOS IN DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE BUILDING,
WASHINGTON, D. C 85
by HENRY VARNUM POOR
DETAIL FROM FRESCO IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D, C 86
by GEORGE BIDDLE
FRESCO PAINTING
WALLS
CHAPTER ONE
T
JL.H]
.HE QUESTION of a suitable wall for the fresco-mural, or
how to make any available area a permanent foundation for
the plaster coats making up the fresco ground, has vexed the
fresco painter from ancient times to our days.
BRICK WALLS
Generally it can be said that the old-fashioned brick wall
made from handmade bricks is still the ideal wall for the fresco-
mural. Bricks baked to a fresh looking red and laid in lime-sand
mortar constitute that kind of a wall.
Old plastered walls must first have the plaster removed.
Old as well as new walls are cleaned with a weak solution of
HYDROCHLORIC ACID, washed with hot water and then sprayed
and rinsed with cold.
During the spraying the wall is examined for non-absorbent
bricks of a muddy violet or clincer grey color. All such bricks
baked and burnt beyond the temperature of the fresh red color
must either be insulated by waterproofing or, better still, replaced
with good bricks to remove the ever present possibility of
EFFLORESCENCE. Waterproofing is done by painting over with
an ASPHALT type of WATERPROOFING which will still allow the
mortar to cling to the safeguarded brick.
Deep hollows and faulty bricks are filled out and repaired
with lime-sand mortar, 1-2 mixture with brick chips mixed in
as a filler. All the brick joints are raked back about 1/4" and
smooth bricks roughened with a stone cutter's hammer made
for the purpose.
HOLLOWT1LE WALLS
The next best wall will unquestionably be the hollowtile
wall; the tiles set with the lutes in checkerboard pattern or
interwalls of horizontally running flutes, thus "checking" in
all directions. Tiles deeply grooved or dovetailed are the best
for a good plaster bond.
Tile walls laid in Portland cement mixed brick mortar, such
walls have if old and dry partition walls, only the mortar joints
waterproofed. Walls backing the outside are given an allover
waterproofing and "furred out/ 7 The waterproofing is done twice
to insure against air bubbles bursting under the brush and
leaving small wide open pin holes.
The dead air space in tile walls remove much of the danger
of efflorescence, the whitish exudation seen on old walls and
especially on outside brick chimneys. The wall is examined in
the same way as the brick wall for non-absorbent tiles and for
necessary repairs. The abundance of grooves makes raking back
of the joints or roughening superfluous.
FURRING WALLS
"Furring Out," means setting off a new wall in front of
one already built. This provides for dead air space the extra
protection of the surface of the "furred out" wall. The water-
proofing of the building wall and the air space left between
is a good guarantee against destruction due to moisture. Furred
out panels can be employed by the fresco painter to great
advantage giving him a practical and perfectly safe wall to work
on if certain precautions are taken to ensure a stable and strong
surface.
As described previously the building wall is first cleaned
and waterproofed.
Second, FURRING STRIPS are nailed to the wall, spaced accord-
ing to the width of the metal lath, and given a coat of water-
proofing. (See illustration.)
-4'OVER-
LAPPIMO
JOIMT
TIE WIIXE
WOOD FURRIM6
STRIPS
Furring strips are usually made of pine, perfectly dry and
straight to avoid warping followed by cracking of the plaster.
Large size fresco-murals call for a more extensive furring job.
Galvanized channel iron strips are employed, fastened to the
wall with EXPANSION BOLTS and screws. Still larger murals
would have to be provided with expansion joints hidden In
the picture composition.
MOVABLE PANELS
Another possibility of a fresco wall is the movable panel,
practical only up to a certain size because of crumbling of the
edges from its own weight. If too large, they become unwieldy
especially panels constructed with steel frames.
More practical and also easier and cheaper to make are the
panels built on wooden frames. A very rigid and strong panel
can be built on a frame made from kiln dried pine or hard
birch, straight and free from knots and water-proofed with two
coats of boiled linseed oil. (See illustration.)
METAL LATH *>
BRQWI1COAT
JCRATCHCOAT-
FURRING
The next step in furring is the nailing of METAL LATH on
the furring strips, using galvanized roofing nails with large flat
heads.
Of the many kinds of metal lath available, only the heavy,
twisted, galvanized lath is good enough for a permanent wall.
Incidentally the author remembers having painted secco on
walls, sand finished over split reeds woven into lengths of mats
with anniled wire and nailed onto the studding. This type of
wall was widely used before the advent of the metal lath and
a big improvement on the old wooden lath strips. In spite of
the age, such walls are still in perfect shape, thanks to the
lime-sand plaster coatings and surfacing by "floating/' a term
explained later.
The free edges of the nailed on metal lath are overlapped
about 4" and tied together securely with galvanized tie wire.
Mere tying by spacing ties 6" apart as in common practice is
7
not good enough. Only by lacing together and tying both over-
lapped edges can the metal lath be made into a taut and rigid
base for the fresco ground.
In conclusion, it should be remembered that partition walls
are the very safest. Walls backing the outside must receive an
allover waterproofing and be furred out as well
8
PREPARATION OF MORTAR
MATERIALS
o
CHAPTER TWO
LIME
NLY THE HIGH CALCIUM LIME is used in the preparation of
mortar for fresco painting. It is sold in bulk and called LUMP-
LIME or POWDERED LIME in containers or paper bags.
The lomplime is fairly hard to work with. In the slaking
process the pieces or the lumps pop and the big ones may get
too hot before they can be quenched that they burn and lose
their effectiveness in mortar altogether. Also, if slaked by inex-
perienced help, it might prove to be dangerous.
Powdered lime can be slaked with less work and without
fear of being spoiled by burning if only ordinary care is taken,
such as slaking only a small amount at a time and thus con-
trolling the process. After slaking, the lime will readily settle
and form a viscous LIME PUTTY which should be stored in a
tight box or steel drum or better still, in a lime pit. Best of all
slaked limes is the so-called lime putty, matured for more than
a year, put up and shipped in steel drums. HOT LIME and
QUICK LIME are other names for unslaked lime.
Hydrated lime can be dismissed right here as worthless
for fresco painting. Like most of the cheaper limes it contains
magnesia which takes years to slake and small amounts con-
tinue to slake years after it has dried. The familiar sight of
cracking, bulging and falling chunks of plaster is most often
caused by magnesia in the lime. Another dangerous impurity
is gypsum, of which, even a small percentage cannot be
tolerated.
The best lime is pure-white, an important factor in fresco
painting because of its transparency and its ability of bleaching
to a snowy white, the reflecting surface under the colors.
Remember, that lime is a transparent product that appears
opaque when freshly painted out and rather dull looking at
first. After having dried and hardened for over a year, the
painting, because of the lime's bleaching ability, becomes drawn
together in tonality, with beautifully transparent depths and
clear lustre in the lights. Years of continued carbonization
will gradually give depth and richness in tone to the colors.
LIME SLAK1N6
The most practical arrangement for lime slaking is to have
two boxes built, one over the other. The upper box is pitched
slightly forward and provided with a run-off gate opening into
the lower box. (See illustration.) Slaking takes place in the
LIME
upper box and the lime is let out from time to time by running
it through the gate into the lower box to leave room for slaking
and to cool off before storage.
The slaking is simple, A water-hose is hung over the edge
of the box and the flow regulated to a slow stream. Fill in the
lime a little at a time, hoeing and mixing lime and water and
10
watching for hot dry piles that must be quickly quenched
before they are burnt by drying and overheating. Slake at the
upper end of the box and hoe down toward the gate. The box
is emptied into the lower one and when sufficiently cooled off,
the lime is stored in a PIT or in STEEL DRUMS provided with a
tight cover and rubber packing. The storage space may be any
cool dark room or cellar.
Steel drums, painted on the inside with asphalt varnish or
baked lacquer, are used for storing lime and mortar.
All empty bags should be disposed of to keep unslaked lime
from settling on other materials.
Lime to be aged for a year or two is better stored in a pit.
A square hole is dug in the ground and the bottom filled to
a depth of three or four inches with sand or gravel upon which
the flooring is laid. A similar space is also left around the sides
and filled in with gravel. This will act as drainage and help
keep the pit dry on the outside.
LIME PIT
MOUHD-*.. : . ,' > ^ ',< . ( 1' .' '-/; ' t : '; ;.-
PIT
11
Before putting the lime into the pit, it should have had
a chance to cool off in the box. Hot lime may cause the boards
to warp and open up. It is also advisable to add extra water to
the lime before closing the pit. Water kept standing over the
lime as long as possible will considerably increase thorough
slaking by prolonging the process. A heavy and tight cover made
of tongue and grove boards like the lining, is nailed down and
covered with sand or gravel Finally the earth is shoveled back
covering the whole. The pit must be deep and well covered up
over the winter to keep the lime from freezing. Once frozen
it is completely spoiled.
Before purchasing lime for fresco work it would be advisable
to test a small amount first under actual painting conditions.
Slake and allow to mature for two weeks then mix an.intonaco,
two parts lime and five parts fine sand, and paint a full scale
detail on a small panel A good lime sets up in nine hours time
and the colors should then withstand spraying with a water
hose. The intonaco should not come clean off the trowel; some
should cling, indicating that the lime is of a good viscous and
adhesive quality.
When working with lime, slaked or unslaked, avoid getting
it into the eyes by using safety glasses- Hot lime from the
slaking box eats quickly into unprotected sensitive flesh. Have
a neutralizing eye lotion at hand and protect arms and hands
with a skin cream or simply by covering with lard. If inexperi-
enced, work at first with an experienced man and avoid lime
burns on the skin and spoiled lime in the box.
Every fresco painter should have the experience of lime
slaking and mortar mixing, work which at all times throughout
the painting, is the guiding principle that can never be ignored
in fresco work* Ultimate knowledge and understanding of these
two materials are necessary to the fresco painter for successful
mural work. Freedom in painting comes from knowing and
being able to control the materials.
12
SAND
Sand and lime are the only two components in the fresco
mortar as a rule/ but in certain cases crushed tile or white stain-
less cement is added to the scratch coat.
The sand varies a little but only two kinds are used in fresco,
either BANKSAND or MARBLE MEAL and MARBLE DUST. The
coarser meal is used in the ground and the so-called dust in
the intonaco. CRUSHED QUARTZ would be a valuable addition
except for its excessive sharpness which will rub off steel from
the trowel and make the surface spotty and grey.
Banksand is preferred by some fresco painters for the warm
colortone it gives to the painting. Others use the whiter marble
dust and paint a suitable surface tone as required.
Banksand is selected from dry and clean pits. It must be
of a uniform grit, free from loam, clay, gypsum, etc., and should
ROUND tTAMD
MARBLE MEAL QUARTZ
contain a high percentage of quartz, feel sharp and not roll
between the fingers. The idea of using sharp sand is to squeeze
the mortar tight and this is possible in plastering only when
the sand is made up of small wedgelike particles, packed tightly
13
together and leaving the smallest possible space for the lime
when mixed into mortar.
Round sand rolls under the trowel and will not stay squeezed
down. The large spaces between the grains of sand will, when
mixed with lime, make the mortar loose and crumbly.
Sand that contains MICA (small transparent flakes easily
split and divided) , is unsuitable for fresco work. Mica on the
intonaco surface and painted over, will sooner or later split,
divide and fall off, leaving a white spot.
Loam or gypsum, present in the sand, might develop the
familiar ugly spots of efflorescence, while clay makes the mor-
tar loose.
Clean handling of sand, washed or unwashed, is essential
and best done by bagging the sand in new tight BURLAP BAGS.
Beware of old cement bags and keep the sand from touching
the ground. Sand, bricks and tile, heaped direct on the ground,
pick up all the ingredients of efflorescence, the death of any
lime color painting.
All this fuss and bother cannot be dispensecl-with if the
final work, the painting, is valued at all.
SAND WASHING
Sand washing, when done in a simple and practical way,
need not frighten anyone.
14
A couple of HORSES, two SCREENS of different mesh, a large
DRYING PLATFORM raised a foot from the ground and a WATER-
HOSE comprise the sand washing equipment. The screens are
fitted one on top of the other and are of the same size. The
lower screen is made of 28-34 mes ^ reinforced with galvanized
metal lath underneath, and the upper screen is equipped with
window fly screen or 16 per inch mesh.
A shovelful of sand is dumped into the upper screen, played
over with the hose and raked back and forth with a piece of
hardwood until the fine sand has washed through the upper
screen leaving only the rough. The rough sand is dumped off
at one end of the platform and the fine sand in the lower screen
DRYIHe PLATFORM
is now washed in the same manner as before, "blowsand" and
mud landing below on the ground. The fine sand in the lower
screen is now dumped off at the opposite end and the piles are
raked out in even distribution on the platform. To speed up
the drying, the sand is furrowed with the corner of the hoe,
first in one direction and when commencing to dry, in the
opposite. Re-furrowing from time to time will accelerate the
process. As soon as one section has dried out the sand is immed-
iately put into a bag to allow space on the platform for further
drying. The final sifting is done in the mortar box.
Marble meal and marble dust is washed and handled like
the sand. Crushed tile does not need to be washed.
The first and rough screening is used in scratch coats where
the sand is combined with crushed tile. The finer, in the sand
finish and in intonaco. From time to time during the washing,
a handful of washed sand is thrown into a glass of clear water.
Clean sand sinks to the bottom, leaving the water clear; muddy
water and ioatings on the surface indicate unsatisfactory wash-
ing. Muddy shoes should not be worn when walking over the
sand and a roll of roofing paper should be at hand to cover up
the platform with lengths of paper over laid boards in
case of rain. Also, cover everything up tight each night after
work to keep out animals. Once* in Oklahoma, a skunk visited
the author's drying platform and two day's work had to be
thrown out
Cleanliness is the A.B.C. of fresco work* One's own hands y
the tools and materials as well as the room where the work is
done should be kept clean at all times. Free lime dust, allowed to
settle on sand and colors can do a great deal of damage that
is not easily detected at first.
MORTAR MIXING
CHAPTER THREE
SUCCESS IN FRESCO PAINTING depends entirely upon proper
handling of the mortar materials both before and after they
are mixed together.
Sand must be kept dry and not touch the ground. Lime
must be kept from freezing and drying out in the pit or the
box. Re-mixing the mortar several times before it is used will
help to insure a successful conclusion of the work.
Only clean and dry sand, together with high calcium lime
in putty form, makes good mortar. Wet or damp sand will not
make a workable mixture, neither will watery lime. The wet
surface of the stone particles making up the sand will keep the
lime from carbonizing and adhering directly onto that surface.
The space, however microscopic, formed between the particles
is accountable for the failure of the plaster coat. Because of the
lack of adhesiveness such mortar does not work well under the
trowel or the float.
Tight and homogeneous unification of the sand with the
lime is essential to coherence in plaster coats.
TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
Like most of the tools and equipment for fresco work, the
tools needed for mortar work are few and simple. A MIXING
BOX, lime PUDDLE BOX, a couple of MIXING HOES, three galva-
nized BUCKETS, a STEEL BARREL for water, two SHOVELS and a
WHEEL BARROW complete the list.
The mixing box is always made from new lumber. It must
be built strong^ large and tight and provided with a tight cover.
(See illustration.)
Old boxes, scaled from old lime or mortar and boxes that
were used for gypsum plaster should not be used for fresco
mortar. They can never be so completely cleaned that the
danger of efflorescence will be eliminated.
Long handled large mixing hoes ? the kind with two round
openings, are the most efficient.
The water barrel is kept close to the box within handy reach
for rinsing and cleaning tools to prevent mortar from collecting
and hardening on the tool surfaces, making them unfit for the
work.
All tools and the mixing box are thoroughly wetted down
before being used. Many uses will be found for the wheelbarrow
around the job. Use vaseline on the hands and wear cotton
gloves when working with mortar and, if inexperienced, safety
glasses should be worn.
Sifting of the sand is the first step in mortar mixing,
Two boards or battens are placed across the box to support
the sandsift For sifting heavy sands, used in grounds., a 14-16
18
mesh window fly screen is used and for the browncoat ?nd thp
sand finish, 18 or 20 mesh and for the intonaco a 32-34 mesh
screen. The top sift in sandwashing, 18 mesh and the lower
is of 29-30.
3ROHZE MESH
A level bucket of sand is poured into the sift and shaken
through. For every bucket of sand sifted into the box, a grease
pencil stroke is made on the outside of the box thus keeping
close count of the intended mixture. Always measure in buckets
for shovelsful are too irregular. Extra buckets are counted in
for sifting waste.
After the correct amount of sand has been sifted into the
box the lime is added. The simplest way of squeezing lime
19
through a sieve is to use a PUDDLE BOX. (See illustration.) The
lime is first cut and hoed in the lime box and a little water
added to make it go through the sieve, a 29-32 mesh screen.
By rocking the PUDDLER back and forth over the lime even a
quite heavy putty can be forced through. The heavier the lime
the better the mortar. The lime is counted into the box and
marked down beside the sandcount. By placing the puddle box
over a scooped out hollow in the sand the lime is prevented
from getting all over the box.
LIME PUDDLine
20
After measuring the materials correctly, they are mixed to-
gether with the hoe and shoveled to one end of the box in a
heap. If the box is big, two ,men, each with a hoe, can work
side by side CHOPPING, slicing and cutting the mortar down to
the opposite end of the box. The chopping is continued until
the batch has been worked over twice. No more water should
be added at this time. The cover is placed over the box and
the mortar is left to "soak" for two days. This preliminary soak-
ing is a time and work saving device and increases the tough-
ness of the mortar. It will also make it easier to work with.
Remixing, the all important chore, is done by chopping through
as many as six or seven times before the mortar is taken out
and used. At first the mortar looks and feels dry and one is
tempted to add more water; choppers will do so if not watched.
This would be a fatal mistake, whereas continued hard swinging
of the hoe will merit the reward of a perfect mortar.
Water is added only when the mortar is ready to be used
by the plasterer and then only at his request. A tryout by
plastering a few square feet will determine the quality of the
mortar and show if more water is needed or whether it is too
fat or too lean when sand or lime is added. The old rule for
measuring materials; 1-3, 1-2, 5-7, or 50-50 is close but the size
of the sand and the consistency of the lime will have to be
taken into consideration and therefore only testing by actual
plastering will show if any correction should be found necessary.
Remixing and adding of water is always done by the plasterer
himself on the table as well as the quick remixing before filling
up his "hawk".
PLASTERING THE FRESCO GROUND
CHAPTER FOUR
x
.o GIVE the uninitiated an idea of how plastering is done
it is best to begin by describing the tools. (See illustrations.)
The PLASTERER'S TABLE is his working table upon which
he remixes the batch for final uniformity, using additional
water, and working up the mortar until ready to be laid over
the wall. Only fine mortar is worked up on the table, rough
mortar for grounds is thrown from a small box. The plasterer's
helper brings the mortar from the box in buckets and places
it on the table.
PLASTERER.* TABLE
FINISHING
TROWEL.
The FINISHING TROWEL, an exceedingly important tool in
plastering, must be made of the finest possible steel, light and
flexible with a long aluminum handle riveted to the blade with
ten rivets and a hardwood handle with a curved sweep. It should
be perfectly straight and faultless, without nicks or rust eaten
spots. An especially smooth and shiny trowel is reserved for
intonaco plastering. Two other kinds of trowels are also used
22
by the plasterer; a diamond shaped, broad, MIXING TROWEL
and a small diamond shaped POINTING TROWEL used for clean-
ing up bigger tools and for "pointing up" in intonaco plastering.
TROWEL XX HAWK
The HAWK is the plasterer's palette, a square piece of alum-
inum with a hardwood handle in the middle cushioned with
a sponge rubber ring around the handle underneath the square.
The hawk is held in the left hand while carrying a load of
plaster from the table. A couple of strokes with the trowel cleans
off the edges of the hawk and the work is ready to begin. The
edge of the hawk is held against the wall and the plasterer lifts
from it a trowel full of mortar which he squeezes straight up
and down again on the wall. Stroke by stroke until the hawk
is empty, the mortar is laid on as far as he can conveniently
reach upwards and sideways. The hawk is loaded again and
the work proceeds until an area of convenient size is covered
which can be quickly straightened and made smooth. The
mortar should be spread sideways and squeezed down to an
even thickness and the surface made smooth by vertical and
horizontal strokes of the trowel, gliding first on one edge, then
on the other coming back. The hawk is quickly filled again
and the work proceeds horizontally from top to bottom the
complete length of the wall. Large areas require several plasterers
standing in a row to keep the edge of the mortar from setting
before the adjoining section is spread on.
23
LEVELING
The leveling of the wall is done before the plastering can
take place. The WATER LEVEL and a six foot long STRAIGHTEDGE
constitute the equipment. The following quick and simple
method is widely used by the trade.
LCVELine Of THE WALL
CORRECT USE OF THE 6 FOOT
LOHO JTRAI6HTEDGC
*^3gK*~*'iP/' l '' '
&g&&S&L'':1<l
euioine LAME-
5CRATCHCOAT
In a corner of the wall, a vertical lane of mortar, the width
of the trowel, is spread on and five feet away from this lane
24
another one. Along the top edge, a third lane is plastered be-
tween the two preceeding ones. The edge of the straightedge
board is set down along and on top of the lane and by moving
the board up and down, is rubbed across the plaster. Holding
the waterlevel against the other edge of the board the level
will show if the lanes are plumb and straight. The lane at the
top is also straightened, by rubbing the straightedge from the
bottom to the top, guided by the vertical lanes.
Plastering is continued between the lanes without destroying
the level Using the lanes as guides, the straightedge is rubbed
horizontally from bottom, upwards to the top, hollows filled
in and rubbed off until the whole plastered area is even with
the guiding lanes. The surface is tried with the straightedge
and the water level, and if not found satisfactory, mortar is
applied again where needed and rubbed off as before until
straight. Mortar accumulated on the straightedge is cleaned
by thumping against the boards laid out under the working
area alongside the wall to catch the surplus mortar falling during
the plastering. If perfectly clean the mortar is scooped up from
the boards and mixed into the batch.
By using plumb lanes for guides, area after area can be
quickly plastered straight, leveling off from the preceeding
correct area to the last laid up lane, throughout the length of
the wall. If a lower part is going to be joined, the upper finished
one of course serves as the guide.
The herringbone pattern markings, caused by rubbing the
straightedge over the surface, are left, if deep enough, to serve
as a scratch coat. Otherwise the wall is scratched with a comb
made for the purpose.
There is a common belief among plasterers that one can
scratch with anything that makes a mark and in any old way.
This is a mistake as marking a surface is one thing and making
a scratch coat is an entirely different thing.
25
SCRATCH COAT
From a piece of galvanized sheet iron a COMB with long
teeth is cut out. (See illustration.) This type of comb will
.scratch deep without loosening the mortar. Combing in all
directions will evenly distribute the "hooks" (protrusions of
sand particles, ridges, etc.) , and prevent uneven suction; this
is important in fresco work. Very meticulous scratch coating,
is to my experience the best insurance against complications
during and after the work is finished.
WWWWVWWV
SCRATCH COMB
MMAA/W
CORRECT COMB
SCRATCHING*
Over -a well wetted down brick wall an ordinary sand-lime
coat, mixed from i part lime and 2^/2 * 3 P ar * s ^ san( ^ * s k^
on to a thickness of about *4". This coating is scratched with
the comb and before it is left to set it is given a fine spray of
water.
Over smooth brick and hollow tile walls this type of scratch
coat is also thrown, (spattered on as in cases of hard-burnt
surfaces) . Spattering or throwing of the scratch coats has been
the common practice in Europe since mediaeval times especially
in barrel and ribceilings, the sand finish there, is still thrown with
26
a broad trowel, mortar throwing is a skillfully performed opera-
tion much admired by the author in his youth.
Before describing the next mortar layer the so-called "brown-
coat/' another type of scratch coat will have to be thoroughly
Investigated since this mortar coat is laid over metal lath.
SCRATCH COAT WITH STAINLESS WHITE CEMENT
The mortar used for this kind of work is mixed from i part
lime and 2 to 2^/2 parts sand. To prevent the mortar from falling
through the metal lath, just enough fiber or goafs hair is mixed
in. The fiber is sprinkled over the mortar while it is being mixed.
Soaking the goat's hair in lime for a day will burn out fats, etc.
When the mortar reaches the plasterer's table it is sprinkled
over with ATLAS STAINLESS WHITE CEMENT and quickly mixed
together. The amount should be less than i/5th the mortar
volume. The purpose of the cement is to make the metal lath
rigid and it is used only in the scratch coat.
The quick setting of the cement precludes the pre-mixing
and therefore the plasterer must rely on his experience for
accurate measurement. With the finishing trowel, the mortar
is spread over the metal lath as quickly as possible. Immediately
after, before the surface has become too hard, deep and vigorous
scratching is done, holding the comb in a slanting position,
thus making sharp and slightly inverted grooves in the surface.
The hooks, sharp and tough, will give the following coat a
secure grip.
To set the cement hard and homogeneously in the plaster
coat, prolonged spraying with water for two or three days and
covering with a wet sheet is of the utmost importance. This
serves the same purpose as the wet hay on a newly poured
concrete road.
The dry scratch coated metal lath should not yield to the
pressure of the hand. The mortar that has squeezed through
27
the openings and locked Itself on the back, Is called the "key",
and If broken, the stability of the whole ground Is lost. In case
the key is broken, spraying with water and the laying of a
second scratch coat a trifle fatter in lime and cement should
take care of such a mishap.
Over all places where the metal lath Is doubled up and
tied, special care is taken to "key in" the overlapping edges.
The "browncoat" or "browning" is the trade name for the
next layer of mortar over the scratch coat. The different layers
of mortar in a ground differ most in their methods of appli-
cation.
BROWNCOAT
The browncoat is made a little fatter by using less sand,
i part lime and 2^/2 parts of sand. Before beginning the plaster-
Ing of the browncoat, the surface is wetted down hard with a
fine spray, with short intervals of rest to allow the water to draw
back and to soak in. In order to facilitate continuous work
before advanced setting has taken place in the mortar, laying
of so-called SKIMCOAT will greatly help to slow up the setting.
Advantageous, in time-consuming operations like leveling and
floating. The skimcoat Is a part of the browning mortar thinned
out with more water, quickly and thinly spread over the under-
coating. Skimcoats will effectively retard setting and prolong
the working time. Another advantage is that by dividing the
plastering into two operations a much heavier layer can safely
be laid on. Laying of the full thickness at once would only
invite trouble. The skimcoat will also hinder the formation of
air bubbles and pockets in the mortar during the plastering.
After a short time of setting the browncoat Is laid over
the skimcoat and finished by checking and pressing back air
bubbles, cracks, etc* Again, all over scratching with the comb
completes the browncoat,
28
SANDFINISH
Sandfinisli is a term applied to a sand-lime mortar coat where
the surface is finished by FLOATS (tools common to the plaster-
ing trade) . Although varied and made from many kinds of
SAHDFlHISHSNa
SHINGLE FLOAT
materials, to suit particular types of work, fresco painters are
concerned only with one kind, the float made from an untreated
ROOF SHINGLE, selected from tight and straight grained boards.
HARDWOOD HANDLES are made or bought to fit different sizes
and fastened with a couple of screws to the shingle board. When
the board is worn thin it must be replaced or at first the screws
can be turned below the surface to permit further use of the
float. To keep the floats from warping, they are placed in a
bucket of water and weighted down. New float boards are sand-
papered smooth for very fine plastering finishes. The under-
edges of the shingle are rounded and tapered off slightly to
keep the edge from cutting into the surface. The finely balanced
distribution of lime and suction in sandfinish is the work of a
good float, the pleasant sweep of the shingle board and its
lightness will soon be felt and understood by anyone who has
had a chance to float a piece of sandfinish.
Plasterers not familiar with sand-lime mortar plastering
will undoubtedly recommend the floats of their experience, such
as the carpet, cork and felt floats. They are good when used
for gypsum plastering but entirely useless for fresco work if not
outrightly destructive. The absorbent covering will, when not
29
too wet, pull the lime out to the surface and settle it there in
spots and streaks. Also when an absorbent float is dipped in
water or slides over a water spattered area, it becomes filled
up and will wash out the surface lime completely. This uneven
distribution of lime results in some spots becoming stone hard,
others washed out and too absorbent and the surface worn
and troubled looking like a badly grounded canvas. Therefore,
selection of the right kind of a float should be given special
attention by the painter.
FLOATING
Only after a whole wall or panel is finished and troweled
smooth and as soon as the surface can stand the pressure of
the fingers does the floating begin. At the beginning, little or
no water is spattered on, probably just an occasional dipping
of the float is enough. Sandfinish or floated surfacing is done
as follows: A plasterer's wetting brush is held in the left hand
WETTING
BRUSH
a bucket of clear water Icept nearby. The brush is dipped into
the bucket and the water is spattered over the surface to be
floated. The float is also dipped into the water and rubbed
over the plaster with a firm pressure and circular movements.
If the plaster is still tender the pressure is very light at first
The floating begins at the end where it was first laid on. Just
ahead of the float, the water is spattered with the brash in
30
uniform co-ordination with the float, slightly cutting and dis-
tributing the mortar evenly. No other paint surface than the
expertly troweled or floated lime-sand surface has the same soft
lustrous texture and silvery tone,
CRACKS will sometimes appear in the mortar when plaster-
Ing over uneven walls with deep hollows. In themselves such
cracks are not dangerous if they develop Immediately after the
plastering. They can quickly be remedied by brushing over a
little thin watery lime, pushed back and squeezed together with
the trowel Scratching over the spot will prevent the cracks from
reappearing.
Checking the plaster coat for solidity after it has dried out,
is simply done by tapping the surface with the wooden end
of a pencil or any similar piece of wood. The hollow sound
will tell if the plaster coat is loose in any place and by marking
off the spot the plaster can be pulled out and replaced.
ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS
Rough mortar hangs on in thicker coating than finer mixings.
Fine mortar will fall off, if laid on too thick, because of its
own weight i/5th of an inch seems to be the limit for thickness.
Combing the surface of a rough mortar such as one com-
bined with an aggregate of crushed tile is superfluous.
The ground scratch coat, laid directly on the wall, should
be left to dry completely before it is followed up with overlaid
coats. The key position of this coat makes careful checking by
tapping the surface and correction of the faults doubly im-
portant.
When smoothing the mortar with the finishing trowel, small
air bubbles may develop in the mortar over deep places and in
deep plaster coats. By puncturing the air bubbles with a needle
or the corner of the trowel and pressing them out, they will
disappear without further trouble.
3 1
FRESCO GROUNDS
CHAPTER FIVE
F,
RESCO GROUNDS are generally divided into 3-4 layers of mor-
tar. The first layer, called the "scratchcoat" is the coarsest and
the leanest of the layers. The following one is called the "brown-
coat/' made of finer sand and slightly fatter. The third layer,
the "sand finish/' is rubbed "floated" into the nearly dry brown-
coat. The last coat, the "intonaco" or painting coat is laid piece-
meal over the ground.
Only two kinds of fresco grounds are necessary for lime
painting. The sand and lime ground is sometimes made with
a filler of crushed tile in the scratch coat. Marble meal and
marble dust are the components of the second kind. The first
ground can be used for any kind of intonaco fine sand intonaco
or the highly finished marble dust surface.
A good ground must have depth, if too shallow, the ground
does not hold the moisture long enough to develop the heavy
"skin" of carbonized lime which is the protective sealer of the
colors.
Trying to make up for a poor ground by painting over a
thick and fat intonaco layer is a common mistake made by
inexperienced painters. Complete ruin by efflorescence and dark-
ening, flattening out of the values by graying will soon follow.
Small pinholes, observed on the painted surface, lack of depth
in the dark color areas, and the general troubled appearance
of the tonality have all originated from the same source, the
32
shallowness of the ground. Depth in color values comes from
good lime, a deep ground and rapid painting sessions.
The ground of today, with some small variations, is very
much the same as the one described by the Roman architect
Vitravius, He speaks about the "trallisatio," the first and rough-
est coat, corresponding to our scratch coat, the "arricciato" and
the "arenato," the second two coats very similar to our brown-
coat and sand finish and finally the "intonaco" or the uppermost
coat which receives the painting. Hereafter, for the sake of
clearness and expediency the Italian name intonaco will be
used for the last coating.
Ancient practice still holds good; a lean rough mortar laid
straight on the wall, followed by the other coats, fatter and
finer, and the intonaco, the finest and richest, acting as a sealer
for the ground and the color surface.
Successful grounds for fresco and secco painting should not
measure under iY 4 " in depth. Ancient grounds often measured
not less than 3" and some as much as 4" in depth. Where a
highly finished surface is desired, only a ground between i%"
to 2" will properly support the intonaco throughout the pro-
longed troweling such a finish requires.
The old "gesso" ground laid over a wood panel and the
fresco ground are both derived from the same principle: lean-
rough to fat-fine. The "gesso grosso" is the same as the scratch
coat, "gesso sotili" the browncoat and the last burnished and
polished surfacing would be synonymous with the intonaco.
The grounds made up from lime and sand with CRUSHED
TILE introduced into the scratch coat are of ancient tradition
and well adapted to brick or hollow tile walls.
LIME AND SAND GROUND
Coarse sand washed in the upper screen is sifted through
a 12 mesh sift and dry mixed with little more than a third
33
PlA*!^*^^
Orv
r
3Q
>*,
x\ ^> \^ V\\VNN> xN <^^\^ ^"xV^^ ^^
"r !!**%* */ **\ + **: * **!*,''****"""* "*'*;J*''.*i.* >^, ; "
[k^w;^^
ra
3r
SI
I
po
mo
r-n
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34
crushed tiles or pottery waste. Broken, unglazed red burnt tiles
or pottery is crushed to the size of split peas and sifted through
a larger than 12 mesh sift and well dry mixed with the sand.
2 l /i to 3 parts of the dry mixture is mixed with i part of puddled
lime. After soaking for two days, without the addition of water,
the batch is remixed several times by chopping until of a
uniform color. After the first two choppings, the water is added,
a little at a time, so as not to wash out the lime from the sand
particles. When the wall has been given a thorough wetting
with a water hose or sprayer the mortar is thrown with a squat
looking, broad, diamond shaped trowel The throwing is done
MORTAR THROWING
TROWEU
a short distance from the wall and in a slanting direction, from
the left to the right, with a slight twist of the trowel for a wider
spatter of the mortar. Surplus mortar, falling in the process of
throwing, is retrieved from new boards laid out underneath as
catchers. Mortar thus picked up is remixed with the batch and
thrown again until the first layer is spread out. The mortar
is thrown from a smaller box moved alongside as the work
advances.
The straightedge and the water level are applied and the
coat is carefully leveled by rubbing off; carefully because of the
roughness and to avoid pulling the mortar coat loose. Air
bubbles and pockets do not develop in a thrown mortar coat.
The throwing is done sideways, as otherwise too much of the
35
mortar is apt to bounce off the wall Thrown rough mortar
clings in thickness close to i/ 2 " or more, depending upon the
porosity of the wall This first layer is left to dry and after good
spraying with water, another equally thick coat of the same
mortar is thrown and leveled as before. As soon as permissible, a
brown coat, i part lime and 2^4 parts sand is plastered over
the rough undercoating. The browncoat should be about 1/4"
to y% f thick and scratched. When this coat in turn has become
hard enough to work over, the sand finish is applied, made up
of i lime and 2 sand, divided into a skimcoat, laid first and
followed immediately by a second layer, floated as described
earlier.
The lime sand ground can be used without the inclusion
of the pottery filler. However, such a ground cannot hold the
same amount of moisture necessary for deep carbonization as
the ground made partly from a filler. The lean nature and tough-
ness of this ground makes it valuable for two reasons, its greater
ability to hold moisture longer, promoting faster and deeper
carbonization, and prolongation of the painting period.
MARBLEMEAL GROUND
Grounds made from MARBLEMEAL and MARBLE DUST are
especially adapted for the highly finished and lustrous marble
dust intonaco.
Coarse marblemeal grounds (see illustration) are mixed
from i part lime and 2^/2 parts coarse marblemeal, 12" mesh
sifting. On the mixing table, immediately before it is spread,
1/5 part of ATLAS stainless white cement is sprinkled over
and mixed into th6 batch. Fiber or goat's hair is also added
if used over metal lath. Cement mixed coatings are always kept
wet for days in order to set the cement before the mortar has
dried. Only in this way is it safe to use the cement in the key
mortar coat*
36
On brick and hollow tile walls with a good porosity, a thin
scratch coat, mixed as described above without the cement, is
spattered or thrown over the wall and left to dry out. The coat
is sprayed thoroughly with water and soaked before the second
or browncoat, mixed from i part lime and 2 parts marblemeal,
iner than in the scratchcoat, is applied. This coat is also
scratched as usual with the comb. Before the second coat has
hardened or as soon as it is possible to work over it without
breaking the layer, apply the sand finish, i part lime and 2 parts
marble dust. This is also divided into two operations, first a
skimcoat is laid as usual and shortly after, a thicker coat is
floated on as described previously. Thus the fresco ground is
gradually built up of layers from coarse to fine, from lean to fat.
37
INTONACO
CHAPTER SIX
i
NTONACO" is the old Italian name applied to the last mor-
tar layer upon which the painting is made. The question of
what kind of surface finishing the intonaco should have is more
or less subject to the personal taste of the painter and the char-
acter of his painting. Some prefer transparency and smoothness
in their work and desire the intonaco troweled to a fine finish.
Others might prefer the floated finish with a slight tooth. Each
should he tried on a testing panel for suitability.
Painting over a highly finished intonaco takes skill as the
suggested smoothness brings out every stroke, good or bad. The
difficulty of control of color tones is met by the use of the
smaller size water color brushes and the scenic painters "fitches/'
brushes with long soft bristles.
Skillful handling of the FINISHING TROWEL and the ability
of plastering piecemeal, repeating and equalizing every part of
the work are the requirements of marble dust plastering.
Intonaco of this kind calls for real skill and experience to attain
the shiny burnished looking finish.
To succeed in getting this smooth finish a fault free trowel
of the best quality, perfectly straight and with the edges worn
down to a round thinness, is needed. Plasterers use such a trowel
first in sand finishing until the edges are worn down smooth
and round, but without the trowel losing its shape. Burnishing
with No. ooo emery paper gives an additional smoothness to
38
the blade. Together with his brushes, the finishing trowel is
the fresco painter's most important tool
The diamond shaped POINTING TROWEL of equally fine
quality, flexible and sinothe ? is the second tool used in intonaco
work. Smaller shapes from the mould maker's trade should be
selected for detail work. Very useful is the one with a square
edge at one end and a pointed, slightly bent one at the other.
For cutting into plaster a moulder's knifelike tool, of a different
shape at each end, is good.
Finishing trowels must never be put down with the blade
flat on the table. Placed in this way they develop rust spots
quickly, making them useless for fine work. Cleaned in water
and wiped dry, they are left resting on the edge by themselves
on a new piece of wooden board. Dropped, they will crack
easily or if carried together with heavier tools, they will not
keep their true shape. Mortar, if not carefully cleaned off, will
collect and harden on a trowel until it becomes almost im-
possible to remove. Scraping and sandpapering, not hammering,
is the remedy.
INTONACO PLASTERING
A new table top, replacing the one used for the coarser
mortar, is placed on the stand and wetted down. The intonaco
is remixed until uniform in color and water added. Tools are
inspected for possible coarse sand particles still clinging to them
as one particle of sand will mar the surface in many places.
Because of the slow setting of tight and fine intonaco, the
work should begin early in the morning. An early start, at 6 or
7, for the plasterer is generally the rule. Careful handling and
prolonged troweling and sometimes a long wait for the surface
to settle down will cut the time limit for painting considerably.
The slow and careful painting of the first color tones over the
tender surface will also take more than it's fair share of the
time allotted for painting.
39
Intonaco plastering is divided into two operations. First, a
thin watery skim coat is laid and floated, cutting into the hard-
ened undercoating. This will take care of the limeskin and
condition the surface for the next layer. The best practice is to
lay another thin coat over the skim coat and wait for i/ 2 ^ our
or so before the laying of the final part of the intonaco is begun.
Slow building up of the last mortar coat is an insurance against
too fast drying and setting. Furthermore it will promote heavier
carbonization of the color layers.
MARBLE DUST INTONACO MIXING AND PLASTERING
Mixing intonaco is done in the same way as the other mor-
tar mixing. Dry marble dust is sifted through a 34 mesh, or
finer sift. As mentioned in the earlier description of the mortar,
only a painting test will determine the fineness of the intonaco.
The sifted marble dust is mixed with, if used on a sand ground,
about 5 parts of lime and 7 parts of marble dust. On the marble-
meal ground the intonaco requires more lime, up to 50-50
mixture depending upon the behavior of the ground in a paint-
ing test on a movable panel made from left over ground
material
The intonaco, preceded by a floated skim coat, is laid after
the surface has been given a fine spray of fresh water. Full
strength of intonaco is laid in an even thickness, about y$",
(the thickness always less than ^4") . Dipped in a nearby bucket
of fresh clean water the trowel is slowly run over in a slightly
tilted position. At first the pressure is very light, hardly more
than touching the mortar. Lime, pressed out, is wiped off the
blade with a wet sponge, then rinsed in a second bucket and
finally wiped dry by a couple of strokes against the overalls.
Dipping and running the trowel wet, will be necessary when
hardening of the intonaco is felt. At the end, when the surface
is nearly finished, the sweeps of the trowel are made in one
40
direction. In case of a mishap (cutting into the surface, etc.) ,
the uppermost layer, the intonaco, is scraped off altogether and
a new piece is laid on. A fresh start is better than an attempt
to patch, which would be a mistake, and would show later as
a dark area of different texture in the finished painting.
Because the moisture in the mortar always leaves at the
top first, troweling starts at the top and ends at the bottom
where moisture will linger for a longer time. The appearance
of grey spots and smudges on the surface is caused by rubbing
off steel from the trowel, especially on quartz and marble dust.
Lack of speed and skillful handling of the trowel or the inability
of keeping ahead of the hardening of the mortar is most often
responsible for grinding off the steel.
Usually under prolonged troweling, air bubbles form in the
intonaco, rarely when the skim coat is used. A sewing needle
driven into a wood handle, is used to prick the air bubbles, after
which they are pressed back in the troweling process.
SAND INTONACO
Intonaco made up from finely sifted banksand (about 7
parts to 5 parts of lime) , similar to the sand ground, is less
susceptible to changes causing cracks and color surface injury.
Because of the slight "tooth" left by the float the colors become
imbedded below the surface between the sand particles. Yield-
ing a heavier carbonization over the colors, such a surface will
become exceedingly tough and impervious to injury after a few
years of hardening and deep carbonization. Handling and float-
SMALL INTONACO
FLOATS
4 1
ing is the same as the sand finish. Floats of various sizes and
shapes are used. (See illustrations.)
As a matter of personal taste this intonaco is used either
floated alone or only given a surfacing with a few light strokes
of the trowel. After a light spray of water and a rest to allow
the water to draw back, the intonaco is ready for the transfer
of the drawing.
Some fresco painters have eagerly looked around for some-
thing that will retard the setting of the lime in fresco-mortar.
BUTANOL was one of the mediums tried. It is foreign to the
nature of lime painting, especially fresco, to be loaded with
detail and much admired brush work. Quite the opposite, fresco
calls for simplicity and understanding of the limitations of the
medium. To force the fresco medium to yield more time for
painting, by use of a retarder, is to wish for an entirely different
medium for self expression.
42
PRELIMINARY WORK TO PAINTING
THE FRESCO
CHAPTER SEVEN
JL All
AINTERS who are accustomed to preparing their own tem-
pera or gouache colors from powdered pigments, will find no
difficulty in doing so when preparing colors for fresco work.
Understanding the technique involved in the piecemeal execu-
tion of the painting, will also present no difficulty if the painter
is willing to prepare himself by getting familiar with the work
as a whole. By assisting the plasterers, he soon will know how
to do his own intonaco work and in a pinch, be able to lay in
the area for that day's painting session himself.
This is only one example of getting oneself ready and pre-
pared for the kind of work where the limited time for execution
is its biggest drawback. Not only should the painter take the
advantage of making himself familiar with the material and
actual plastering, he should also have his own testing panels,
at least three of them, for practising intonaco work and painting
in the quiet of his studio. (More later about practising panels) .
The outcome of a painting in any technique depends entirely
upon how prepared the painter is to do that particular painting.
COLORSKETCH
COLORSKETCHES are painted in tempera on light canvas on
a stretcher and should be as large as can conveniently be carried
around on a scaffolding. In the tempera, the color powders
43
contemplated for the fresco should of course be employed In
the painting of the sketch. This will start the painter oi in the
right direction and limit the tones to colors that are possible
In fresco painting.
CARTOON
Detail in the colorsketch is of little or no value as all detail
is worked out in the drawing of the CARTOON, the full size
drawing of the whole composition from the colorsketch. Very
DETAIL Of CARTOOfl @?rtLARED TO
Opt* FOOT J9UARE_
-J WCOTCH TAPE
ovenLAPPine
strong detail paper or wrapping paper, in widths of 52" to 72"
and of a light grey tone is the best kind. A TRACING of the sketch
is made and squared up in proportion to the one-foot squares
on the actual wall. Lengths of paper are cut, equal to the height
of the fresco ground and hung plumb on the wall used for the
44
TRACine A SKETCH
JHOWIMO JYJTCM OF
drawing work. Water level or plumbiine is employed at the
edge of each length of paper, tacked at the top and overlapped
about three inches by the edge of the length. All paper lengths
are hung loosely and the edges temporarily fastened together
by widely spaced small pieces of SCOTCH TAPE. The squared up
tracing is now enlarged within the limits of the ground marked
on the cartoon papers. From the top down and from the left
to the right side, using the waterlevel and the plumbiine (the
"snap line" in this case) the cartoon is squared up in i ft. squares
and numbered, beginning with zero at the top left corner to
the right and down the left side. Exactly the same system of
numbering is copied on the tracing squares and must tally
exactly with the cartoon. (See illustration.) If a toned paper
of the same color as the wet intonaco can be found and the
drawing is done in charcoal and highlighted very simply with
white chalk the painter will have a realistic impression of the
initial color values right from the beginning and from the very
start avoid painting the values too light, thus sparing himself
a lot of overpainting.
All edges of the finished cartoon are marked with short blue
pencil lines running over the edge of each paper so as to enable
the cartoon to be fitted together at any time.
TRACING PAPER lengths are hung over the cartoon and the
squares as well as the drawing are traced with careful exactness,
numbered as exactly as the cartoon and the sketch and also
blue pencil-marked for fitting the lengths together when the
tracings are used for transfer of the drawing to the intonaco.
45
Not enough can be said about the importance of accurate
cartoons and tracings. The whole painting rests upon depend-
able tracings from accurate measurements on the cartoon. Inac-
curacy will jeopardize the outcome of the whole fresco. The
same accuracy is followed in the PERFORATING OF THE TRACINGS
as well as the blue pencil-markings, turning them into POUNCES.
^\^rst&st
X.*** .*
.- .*
II __Z_ -^
POUNCE
The tracing is laid out on a large table. Underneath the
tracing is placed an old blanket folded double to save the points
of the PERFORATING WHEEL and to keep the paper from tearing.
PERFORATING
POINT
PERFORATING
WHEEL
Only straight lines and large forms are perforated with the
wheel. Faces, hands and anatomy in general are perforated by
hand, using a SEWING NEEDLE mounted in a piece of wood for
a handle. The needle works more like a pencil over a sensitive
drawing. The lines left by the wheel are apt to become very
stereotyped and over small detail the wheel does not work very
well. A fine SANDPAPER, used over the back of the pounce, will
keep the openings of the perforation from closing when con-
tacting the moist surface of the intonaco.
POUNCING
Pouncing is done by rubbing over the perforated lines with
a ball filled with powdered charcoal. A double folded square
of strong LINEN, fairly closely woven, is laid out and filled with
the CHARCOAL POWDER. By lifting the edges together a ball is
formed and a strong cord is wound around the edges several
times and tied into a handle of the material completing the
POUNCING BAG. Several sizes of pouncing bags are needed to do
the dusting and kept in reserve in case a bag is punctured.
POUNCING
BAG
Careful dusting on the lines prevents the charcoal from
flying over the intonaco and a circular movement of the bag
will keep the pounce in place. In artificial light, or in side light
from a window, transfer of unperforated drawings can be made
by pressing off the lines in the soft intonaco. Any rounded
BONEPOINT that leaves a fine line and does not tear the paper
or scratch the surface can be used for making the imprint though
only a strong tracing paper can stand the pressure of the point.
A perforating wheel with a swivel and widely spaced points
should be selected. Close pointed wheels cause the perforated
47
lines to open up and fall apart. Besides the waterlevel, the
SNAPLINE is important as a drawing tool Professional, non-twist
snaplines are bought in hardware stores and a length, sufficient
for the work, is wound up on a piece of wood. (See illustration.)
WITH
PLUMB BOB
A small plumb bob tied to the loose end of the line will serve
instead of the waterlevel on vertical lines. "Chalking" the line
is done by rubbing it with broken pieces of charcoal sticks. Use
of colors on the snaplines and in the pounce bag might result
in serious smudging of the intonaco. Before snapping the line
to transfer the charcoal, the line is lifted and let down gently
again to loosen it from paper creases and rough mortar surfaces,
INTONACO PLASTERING, JOINING AND PAINTING
THE FRESCO
The step by step method of explanation has been used for
the sake of simplification in describing the painting part of
this book.
A visual and graphic description will be helpful at the begin-
ning of the painter's own tryouts and experiments on a movable
test panel. The method will enable him to do his own intonaco
plastering and joining of the areas, plastered piecemeal, work
he should be able to do himself in case of necessity. After a
series of plastering tryouts and detail painting in full scale, of
parts considered to be of importance in the actual mural, he
will, in a very short time, have gained the confidence and experi-
ence necessary for the work itself.
In large murals where big forms, such as houses or landscape
lines, take up considerable space in the picture, construction
lines of the forms should be drawn over the sand finish before
intonaco plastering takes place. In this way the mural can be
viewed as a whole. The drawing must be done in charcoal only,
and the accumulated coal dust should be dusted off before the
plastering. Slapping a flexible straightedge against the lines
will do the dusting off and prevent the coal dust from being
rubbed into the surface.
PIECEMEAL PLASTERING
Step i Wet the wall several times, from the bottom up-
wards, by using a water filled glass held against the surface and
moved horizontally, allowing the water to flow down. Com-
mencing at the bottom of the piece to be plastered and working
horizontally upwards an effective soaking is accomplished and
all loose dust washed off. Use the wetting brush in inconvenient
places, corners, mouldings, etc.
Step 2 Mark off the area to be plastered with charcoal well
beyond the actual piece intended for painting by leaving a
margin of intonaco seven inches wide or more. The measure-
ments should be made from the first pounce, the one beginning
at the top left hand corner.
Step 3 Ready mixed intonaco is laid on the wetted table
and a small portion is made into a fairly wet skiincoat
Step 4 The finishing trowel and the hawk is dipped in
water and the skimcoat is laid as usual and floated with a small
shingle float. Allow 15-20 minutes for setting, then carefully
apply a spray of water to refresh the skimcoat and the finish
of the intonaco can begin.
Step 5 Left over skimcoating is removed from the table
and stored away. The tools are rinsed off and the rest of the
intonaco lightly remixed and quickly and evenly spread out
49
and troweled down to a thickness of approximately 3/i6ths of
an inch.
If the smooth intonaco has been decided upon, immediate
troweling must follow quickly until the desired degree of
smoothness is reached. If, on the other hand, a slight tooth
is favored, floating with a smooth shingle ioat will suffice. Any
additional finish over the floated surface with the trowel is inad-
visable as it might result in uneven suction of the intonaco.
Step 6 If the intonaco is hardened enough to take a slight
pressure of the finger, pouncing can begin and the first pounce
is put in place, plumbed and dusted off or imprinted on the
intonaco. Identical work is done in the piecemeal plastering
whether sand or marble dust intonaco has been used.
SURFACING THE INTONACO
An attempt to reach the highest degree of smoothness on
a fresco surface is neither necessary nor desirable* Large areas
or panels cannot be troweled to an allover finish of uniform
exactness because of the plastering in piecemeal fashion and
the atmospheric changes from day to day. Panels with 4 to 6
painting parts should not be particularly hard to work up to a
high degree of finishing but it will be almost impossible to keep
uniform larger areas with numerous joints. Prolonged or sus-
tained troweling will produce a fine network of lace-like cracks
further pronounced by the color coat
In connection with other finishes in the interior to be deco-
rated, the semi-gloss finish of the fresco will add to the general
effect, especially in murals of a purely decorative character.
In pictorial murals, intended to be seen from many direc-
tions in a large room, too fine surfacing takes away much of
the strength and the effectiveness which are the true character-
istics of the fresco mural.
It has been demonstrated in the most forceful manner
50
throughout the years of the author's experience that the floated
lime-sand finish is the strongest and least sensitive to injury
from outside causes.
Once, in a burning building, the hot walls, some unfinished
and some finished in secco painting, were sprayed with the fire
hose yet were uninjured except for streaks of smoke and dirty
water. The breaking of a few inches off the top was caused
by the ceiling falling in! The only crack was one in the corner
of a partition wall of weaker construction. The painted walls
had the streaks removed and the colors retouched none the
worse for the experience. From the other walls the soot was
brushed off and refinished with a thinner coating floated over
the old one.
Lime mixed colors painted over floated lime-sand intonaco
probably produces the most durable of all fresco surfaces,
COLORS
The fresco palette of today is usually made up from manu-
factured colors that will ultimately undergo many changes and
have many new colors added from time to time such as the
COAL TAR COLORS. These however belong to the group of entirely
transparent colors and have only a limited function in fresco
painting. Some of the colors are claimed to be limeproof but
only time will prove this assertion.
MADDER LAKES are also recommended as lime proof and
suitable for the fresco painter although none of them are known
to be faolproof in lime. An overdose of tones made from them
or the coal tar colors will also throw the color scheme into a
confectionery sweetness wholly alien to fresco.
ALIZARIN MADDER can be tolerated in secco painting in very
dark color schemes where reds, red-browns and blacks are used
in profusion and where a glaze over an otherwise dull and
uninteresting tone will give it depth and richness, provided it
is not used over or mixed with Vert Emeraude or iron oxides.
VERT EMERAUDE
In selecting dependable colors for use in fresco-painting
the reliability of the color man or manufacturer must be con-
sidered. Through experience the author has come to the
conclusion that hardly more than half a dozen old reliable
colorhouses have specialized in fresco pigments and from each
one only certain shades were selected for their outstanding
qualities. For instance, deep cobalt blue was acquired from one
house, while from another came the beautiful ochres and from
a third the mars colors or certain greens. Buying dry colors is
quite different from buying tube colors for the latter should,
if possible, come from the same manufacturer for the sake of
both quality and uniformity.
LIST OF PIGMENTS FOR FRESCO PAINTING
White
Milk of lime
Blanc fixe
(Sulphate of Barium of lim-
ited use only)
Orange
Cadmium orange
Green
Vert emeraude
Oxide of chromium opaque
Green earth (Terra verde)
Veronese Green Earth
Red
Cadmium red, deep
Cadmium red, brilliant
Light red (English red) pure
52
Venetian red
Caput mortuum, light and
dark
Terra rossa
Terra di Treviso
Terra Pozzuoli
Burnt Ocher, pure
Brown
Brown ocher
Burnt Sienna, deep
Raw umber, greenish
Burnt umber
Burnt green earth
Yellow
Cadmium yellow, medium
Cadmium yellow, deep
Yellow ocher
Golden ocher Blue
Dark ocher Cobalt blue, deep
Mars yellow Cerulean blue
Naples yellow, It. and dk. Ultramarine blue, Guimets.
Violet BlacJc
Mars violet Ivory black
Ultramarine red Vine black
Ultramarine violet Charcoal black
The colors on the above list are the so-called NORMAL SERIES
OF FRESCO COLORS. Many of them have been known since the
beginning of fresco painting and the others have a long stand-
ing reputation as reliable pigments. Several have been omitted
from the list because of poor setting quality, others for
their inclination to darken and bleed through super imposed
tones and a few because they are exceedingly hard to mix
with water.
Even with the shortcomings in violet and black pigments,
the present palette should hold enough possibilities for any
fresco work. Lime proof violet colors are few and not of a
true violet shade, ie: MARS VIOLET, ULTRAMARINE RED and
ULTRAMARINE VIOLET. Mars violet of a somewhat heavy color
tone is perfectly reliable and sets well in lime. In heavily painted
layers, however, the great opacity of the pigment tends to over-
power bordering color areas. In glazings, the color acts as a
binder over other colors. ULTRAMARINE RED and VIOLET are of
limited use and then only indoors. The same can be said of
ULTRAMARINE BLUE. Outdoors they are easily attacked by
polluted air and the same may happen indoors, although slowly,
where large gatherings of people are frequent and proper air
conditioning is lacking. In some of the older theatres the author
has seen ultramarine blue with whitish spots and brownish
streaks from just such causes.
53
COBALT VIOLET (cobaltous phosphate) is not a good fresco
pigment because of its bad setting qualities. Part of the pigment
will set in lime only to rub off when dried out. Applied in a
good binder it can be employed in secco painting. Cobalt
violet of the cobaltous oxide arsenate type is very poisonous in
powder form and should be handled with care. It is however
not a fresco color.
Of the blades, the IVORY BLACK, VINE BLACK, and CHARCOAL
BLACK are all true fresco pigments. Carefully painted out, they
hold and set in lime without rubbing off. In painting sequence,
they must come among the first to be painted because of the
slow setting. All such colors must have the first choice of the
intonaco surface. Overlaid tones of other colors act as binders
for the poorer setters but only in the top layers. Blacks will
sometimes give better service when arranged into cold and
warm tones as in the following examples: -A mixture of vine
black and ultramarine red or violet makes a COLD BLACK while
ivory black with vert emeraude or green earth serves as a
WARM BLACK.
Tonality standards such as the two mentioned will quickly
indicate the tone value in fresco, where limited time does not
allow lengthy working up of the values.
As a neutralizing silvery GREY, charcoal black mixed with
lime-white, lends itself in a beneficial and quieting way and
helps reduce loud and unruly color schemes. Many uses will
be found for it also as a passage or middle tone.
Another pigment, playing the same role in colorful paint-
ings bordering on the gaudy, is the BURNT SIENNA. A small
patch, sometimes only an indication of the tone will bring
order and peace to the boldest of color riots. Investigation will
prove this a fact. Cobalt blue with deep burnt sienna gives
tones a depth clear in color whereas ultramarine blue would
make only a sooty grey.
RAW UMBER, as a color factor, has little value in fresco and
54
functions only as an occasional glaze over other colors and then
as a binding agent. Heavy overlays of the color appear sooty
and turbid.
BURNT UMBER and BURNT GREEN EARTH are superfluous in
fresco painting. The former sets poorly and is apt to deaden
an otherwise brilliant array of tones. The opposite can be said
about the OCHERS, RAW OR BURNT. They are the ideal and
perfect fresco pigments. In mixtures, they leave clear and well
defined tones, work well with other colors and have a beneficial
influence upon their setting. Of course this applies only to the
genuine and unadulterated ochers. Tests for impurities, such
as humus or "improvements" with coal-tar colors, are made
by heating over a flame. True ochers turn red whereas presence
of organic matter will turn the test sample black. Discoloration
in alcohol is but further evidence of adulteration or a pigment
not thoroughly washed nor entirely free from impurities. Red
ochers frequently have a filler ground in to add to the weight.
When shaken in a glass of water, the colors will divulge many
secrets of adulteration.
Well washed RED EARTHS like the TERRA ROSSA AND TERRA
DI TREVISO, of ancient reputation, are valued in fresco for their
cool beautiful tones and their permanence.
TERRA DI POZZUOLI is another old fresco color. It is a natural
cement and sets rapidly, before all other colors, thus hindering
the adhesion when painted over with other pigments. Stress
should therefore be laid upon the sequence of its use, that is,
it should be painted lastly rather than among the earliest of
the pigments and only in overpainting and not as a under-
painting color. In spite of this characteristic its usefulness in
fresco is well established.
Of the artificial iron oxides, the MARS YELLOW and MARS
VIOLET are among the strongest. They have a good reputation
in lime painting, in mixtures with other colors and are of very
good setting quality. MARS YELLOW has a deeper brilliance
55
than yellow ocher, is more transparent and makes a good con-
tribution to the ochers.
But for its dense heaviness in conjunction with other color
tones MARS VIOLET would have a wider use in fresco. Its use-
fulness is rather in light transparency than in dark values where
it appears to be immovable.
The one reliable blue in fresco is COBALT BLUE DEEP; reliable
in this case meaning also paintahle or a good brush color. Very
light shades are the lowest grades of the product and probably
have been stretched out with a filler of one sort or another.
Only the deep shade of this pigment should be acquired for
fresco painting. Violets and greens are equally easy mixed from
this blue as are the great varieties of blue tones, provided the
painter will remember the old rule of cold under warm and
superimpose the colors in this sequence.
It should be pointed out that only two colors are mixed
together; the third is always used as an overlaid tone or as under-
painting.
CERULEAN BLUE is a permanent pigment in lime painting.
If used in fresco, it should be among the first colors to be
painted because of its slow setting. It's tendency to powder off
a little after drying can be prevented by the application of a
light glaze of either earth green or vert emeraude, immediately
after the setting has begun.
OXIDES OF CHROMIUM, opaque and transparent brilliant,
and the well known VERT EMERAUDE are the most permanent
of all fresco colors, if not in all other techniques. Both colors
have endless varied uses in fresco, not only in landscape verdure
but equally in colorful shadows. Where real depth in a trans-
parent darkness is called for, vert eineraude will produce such
an effect in conjunction with other colors and without a pro-
nounced heaviness.
In ancient works of fresco painting the two colors GREEN
EARTH (TERRA VERDE) and VERONESE GREEN EARTH are always
56
present. From the beginning of fresco, neither of the colors have
ever been really excluded from the fresco painter's palette. The
warmer Green Earth and the lighter, cooler Veronese Green
Earth are, when genuine and pure pigments, perfectly lime-proof
and extremely useful. Much of their reputation comes from their
use in flesh-shadow colors and half lights. In thin overpaintings
they never lose their soft lightness and in lime-mixed tones
they become silvery optic greys in perfect conformation to
fresco painting.
For brilliancy and color strength, the CADMIUMS take first
place among the fresco pigments. The fresco painter will how-
ever soon learn that for real strength in the fresco mural he
must rely on the less alluring iron oxides.
Only deep shades of the YELLOW CADMIUM are permanent
in fresco or at least do not show a perceptible change of tone.
CADMIUM RED DEEP and RED BRILLIANT, the shade of
Chinese vermillion, are the only two necessary ones, the rest
of the lengthy list of shades will only burden the palette and
confuse the painter.
CADMIUM ORANGE and NAPLES YELLOW set slowly and poorly
in lime painting. These shades can readily be mixed from other
colors and the pigments in question excluded from the fresco
palette.
The vexing problem of a paintable white in the fresco tech-
nique is still with us as in ancient times. Among the many and
varied experiments the author has made with different pigments
to produce a good fresco white, MILK OF LIME seems to be the
only one NATURAL IN FRESCO. Anyone used to painting with
gouache or glue colors (where a white filler works in much
the same way as the lime) should be adept in the use of lime
mixed colors.
The transparency of the lime is the one characteristic that
makes it fairly difficult to get used to, in order to judge the
final value of the tone before the color is completely dry. As
57
the drying may take considerable time, the only way out of
the dilemma for the painter is to acquire the experience by
test painting on a movable panel and setting off samples on
a lime painted porous brick. Time spent in this kind of painting
exercise will have its reward in the final outcome of the mural.
^
Sulphate of Barium, BLANC FIXE has some merit as a white
pigment, but cannot replace the milk of lime and must be
tested thoroughly in painting samples before the product can
be used.
Preparation of tlie Mill: of Lime White
Cookie like cakes of lime putty are laid out on new wooden
boards to bleach in the sun. For a week or more they are
turned over occasionally until they become exceedingly hard
and white. The cakes are pounded into small pieces and,
with distilled water, they are ground on a grinding slab with
a muller to the consistency of heavy cream.
MILK OF LIME MAKfNG
EQUIPMENT
The equipment for making the MILK OF LIME consists of
two one gallon stone crocks and a 56 mesh brass sieve of the
same diameter as the top of the crocks. A long bristle brush is
used to push the lime through the sieve and for cleaning pur-
poses, a small sponge and a bucket of water.
58
Step i The ground lime is thinned in the first crock just
enough to make it go through the sieve.
Step 2 The sieve is placed on top of the second crock and
the lime is squeezed through until the crock is empty.
Step 3 The brush, sieve and crock are rinsed free from grit,
the sponge applied over the sieve mesh until entirely cleaned.
Step 4 Repeat by again squeezing the lime through the
sieve back into the first crock.
Step 5 Rinse the utensils as before and proceed in the
same order making sure that all grit is cleaned off the sieve
and the crock each time the lime is put through.
Step 6 Repeat as many times as possibles, at least ten, as
milk of lime improves after each run through the sieve. It is
essential to wash the sieve thoroughly after each use as the
settling of lime in the mesh would soon spoil it and render
the sieve useless.
Cellulose tape (pressed all around the edge of the frame,
overlapping on the mesh about l/g", with another tape on the
other side and the two tapes pressed together) will prevent the
grit from accumulating on the edges and in the corners of the
sieve. This tape is removed when the work is finished and the
mesh thoroughly washed. A similar application of tape is used
the next time the milk of lime is prepared.
PIGMENT TESTING
Each user of the fresco technique should take advantage
of all the methods available that will contribute to a successful
conclusion of the painting. Especially should time and attention
be given to color testing. Two panels, one for making a color
chart and the other for use in pigment testing, will enable
the artist to familiarize himself with the materials and give
him the necessary experience to assure a perfect result. Both
panels should be made from the fresco ground. The color chart
59
TEST BRICK
COLOR TESTING PANO-
should have each color painted a fresco in a square with the
name of the color lettered above it for handy reference in
color mixing.
For outdoor testing the colors are also set off in fresco
painting, on either troweled or floated intonaco, in horizontal
rows of vertical brushstrokes i" x 4". Half of each color is cov-
ered with lightproof strips of oil painted plywood. After two
or more months the strips are removed and the color samples
examined. Any change of the pigment will show clearly and
in case of failure of the color, it is removed from the intended
palette. Test panels are of immense value to the work itself and
should in no case be disregarded. By placing the panel out
of doors to the full force of air, light, rain and sun, the reliability
of the test is assured.
Further pigment testing by boiling in milk of lime is very
simple. The pigment to be tested is mixed in less than a half
coffee cup of milk of lime and a brush-stroke sample is set off
on a lime-white painted dry brick. The rest of the color is
poured into a test tube and boiled over a flame for about 10
or 15 minutes. After the boiling, the color is poured back into
the glass and left to cool. The test tube is cleaned and the next
unboiled samples are set off with inch intervals on the brick
and the rest boiled as before. After a few samples have been
60
-boiled the first cooled color is set off next to its onboiled
counterpart on the brick and by comparing the two, any devi-
ation in shade can be detected. The strokes should be at least
%" wide to show a clear color shade.
COLOR GRINDING
Dry pigments for fresco painting are, as a rule, ground
ready for use although a few manufacturers sell iron oxides in
the rough. Rubbing the pigment against the thumbnail with
the finger tip will reveal immediately whether or not grinding
is necessary. Unnecessary grinding kills any color. In lime
painting a slightly ground color is at its best and sets firmly
but, if worn out by grinding, it dries to a lifeless greyish tone.
The GRINDING SLAB is made from a square piece of thick
glass or a slab of hard marble. For a MULLER, any conveniently
shaped piece of smooth hard marble will do, provided it is
large enough to keep the fingers out of the color. A ready made
STONE DULLER
STONE SLAB
GLASS
MULLER , SLAB
STONE MULLER may be procured from a lithographic supply
house as well as a stone slab for grinding colors. Heavy slabs
and rnullers do the work twice as fast as smaller ones. A
chemist's MORTAR AND PESTEL can be used with equal success.
Test rubbing on the nail will tell when the pigment is ground
to the desired fineness.
A small heap of the color to be ground is laid on the slab
61
SPATULA
MORTAR. PESTLE
// /)
PALETTE
KNIFE
and, with a long SPATULA or PALETTE KNIFE, mixed with dis-
tilled water into a paste. Little by little the paste is ground
and only enough water is added to facilitate the grinding.
Alcohol added, will help in colors hard to mix in water. The
ground color is scooped up with the rinsed off palette knife
and put into a labeled STORAGE JAR until ready for use. All
fresco pigments are ground in distilled water to prevent them
from getting mouldy in the closed jars. CANNING JARS with
rubber rings and glass lids are ideal for wet storage of colors. The
screwed on metal lids are unsatisfactory.
Dry pigments are kept in the well known waxed PAPER
CONTAINERS for safe and dust proof storage. Every jar and
container is provided with the proper label as to the name,
mixture, etc. Glass jars, rubber rings and lids should be boiled
before they are used to prevent mould forming on top of the
colors.
BRUSHES
Painting over the tender moist intonaco requires long and
soft brushes. At the beginning, when the intonaco surface is
very sensitive, the first color tones are painted out with flat
62
ROUNDS
CUT-TIP
ITALIAN STYLE FRESCO
BRUSHES
SWEDISH STYLE FRESCO
BRUSHES
3RISTL
CORQ
LETTERING
BRUSW
HAMDL
GOATS HAIR
BRUSHES
SPLIT-TIP BRUSH
CROSS CUT BINDING
COM)
broad SABLE BRUSHES. When this first coat of color has begun
to set and harden a little, extra long BRISTLE BRUSHES can be
employed.
The bristle brushes are made from pig's white and grey
bristles. Grey bristle is used for the longest brushes, flat or
round and without a point. White bristle is for the round and
pointed.
All of the scenic painter's type brushes are used in fresco,
the socalled FITCHES, CUTTERS, LINERS, etc., and are almost
indispensable to the fresco painter. Sizes from 1/3" to 2" (round
and flat), are the most practical ones. There are also bristle
brushes made especially for fresco painting the Italian and
Swedish style, cordbound, FRESCO BRUSHES. The Italian brushes
are usually made from long dark grey bristles and are stubby
and without a point. The Swedish pointed are made from white
bristles. Both kinds are important in lime painting because of
their ability to hold a large amount of color. They are easily
homemade, if the right kind of bristle is used. (See illustrations.)
Fresco brush sizes run from Vg" to 4"* Still other types of
brushes, for detail, lines and contours, are found among the
china and pottery painting varieties and the CUT-TIP LETTERING
BRUSHES.
For loose uneven color effects HOME MADE GOATS HAIR
BRUSHES are especially adapted leaving streaky uneven brash
strokes quite interesting as accents in the painting.
For certain looseness in surface treatments, the old fashioned
marble imitators SPLIT-POINT brush is very useful. Such brushes
were used in old dutch painting for making leaves on trees
and masses of foliage. Later, they were adapted by the scenic
painter for the same purpose. The author recalls having seen
an antique "tjafser" (the Swedish name for this brush type)
5" in diameter and with as many as 8 points.
To make a split-point brush for fresco a strong white linen
sewing thread is run* in the bristle or sable, thus dividing it
into two points. Round brushes can be divided cross wise into
several, flat ones in 2 or 3 places, according to the desired
effect. The painters of old, by dipping the points in different
shades, produced effects of charming naivite.
CUT SPONGES
Small soft toilette or face SPONGES of an even texture, can
be utilized in many ways in the fresco technique. In their
natural shape or cut, they can be used as brushes with a little
practise. Smaller ones are held in a charcoal holder,
PALETTES for lime painting are selected from white, cheap,
light CHINA PLATES or ENAMEL PLATES. Because of the lime,
the colors will adhere in such a way as to make it impossible
to wash them clean so the plate is discarded for a new one and
because of this are more practical than the metal palettes with
hollows or compartments for the colors.
COLORPOTS are selected for their ability to stand upright
on scaffolding planks. STONE CROCKS, broad based COFFEE CUPS
and low wide TUMBLERS all belong to that category of color pots.
The modern ELASTIC COVERS, in all sizes used for food
protection, are perfect for keeping the colors dust free and for
preventing the carbonization of lime mixed shades.
Tools such as a small HAND SPRAYER made of brass, a trowel
shaped PALETTE KNIFE, a shiny flexible POINTING TROWEL (used
for the purpose of giving depth to colors by troweling and
enhance setting of difficult dark colors) WOODEN BUCKETS,
GALVANIZED BUCKETS, pieces of TILE (for lifting out carbonized
lime crystals floating on lime and lime mixed colors) are all
parts of the painting equipment and are important to the final
result, the mural. Small FUNNELS, made from oiled paper or
cellophane, are very convenient (tied to the brush handles to
keep the colors from running over the hand) a HAND REST,
made from a slender bamboo pole, padded at one end to keep
it from slipping when rested on the plaster surface outside
of the intonaco, a WETTING BRUSH, a house painter's wall brush
4-5" wide completes the equipment for painting the fresco.
HAND
SPRAYER
HANDLE
FUNNEL
PALETTE KNIFE'
TROWEL
66
PAINTING THE FRESCO
CHAPTER EIGHT
T
JLn
.HE FRESCO technique is similar to painting in tempera,
gouache or water colors, in fact to all three combined.
Painters accustomed to any one or all of these methods
will have little difficulty in the transition to fresco painting.
If the painter will keep in mind that fresco is something
entirely apart from painting in oil (which may be done at
leisure and without a time limit) and direct his effort towards
simplicity in his design and color, then only will his work in
fresco be of monumental mural quality.
The descriptive painting of a head (see illustrations on pages
80 and 81) should serve as a guide or an example of the
sequence generally followed in superimposing the color tones
making up the light and shadow; heightening and deepening of
the colors, setting in reflected light and the completion of the
painting in detail.
This description is the immediate follow-up of the previous
description of plastering the first part of the intonaco in
readiness for the painting. This should begin within the */2
hour allowed for the surface moisture to draw back or as
soon as the pouncing of the drawing can be done.
Only by methodical superimposing of the tones in develop-
ing form in fresco, be it human anatomy, architecture or
drapery, is it possible to keep under control what would other-
wise easily end in confusion.
6 7
The two illustrations show a head painted in fresco tech-
nique, one developed only up to a certain point and the other
fully completed.
As already indicated, the two examples are not to be looked
upon as recipes for painting, only as illustrative help in clarify-
ing the laying on of the different color tones in sequence and
position to enhance the effect of the tonality.
The painting was developed from a pencil drawing on
tracing paper, without the aid of a color sketch. Two twelve
year old hard panels 18" x 18" were used for the painting. A
thin skim coat was floated and the lime skin of the old sand
finish consequently cut establishing a firm bond between the
old and the new surfaces. This coating was left to dry until
the next day, then an additional skimcoat without floating
was laid.
Immediately over this second coat the full thickness of
the intonaco was spread, about l/fc" and troweled smooth to
a fine finish. The three coats measured together less than 1/4".
A twenty minute pause for preliminary work followed after
which the underpainting took place.
The palette used in the painting was made up of the fol-
lowing pigments: Yellow ocher, brown ocher, cadmium yellow
medium, cadmium red brilliant, cadmium red deep, Venetian
red, burnt Sienna deep, Cobalt blue deep, vert emeraude deep,
terra verde and ivory black.
No lime white was used and the colors were mixed in water
and painted out transparently.
THE PAINTING SEQUENCE
Step i After imprinting the drawing on the intonaco with
a soft pencil run over the drawn lines, underpainting in terra
verde was carried out in flat modeling, except over high lights
and the lightest part of the local color.
68
Step 2 The shadow, made of brown ocher and Venetian
red, was at first laid flat to avoid overmodeling.
Step 3 Cobalt blue and brown ocher were mixed into a
passage tone, laid close to the edge of the shadow and slipping
over in a couple of places.
Step 4 The local light was mixed from yellow ocher and
Venetian red fluidly painted without modeling in the open
space reserved for the light.
Step 5 The deep shadow was painted with a tone mixed
from vert emeraude and the cadmium red, deepest shade,
varied with burnt Sienna deep. The depth of this color depends
upon the depth of the cadmium red. The author used a red
bordering on purple.
Step 6The ears and the lips were laid over with cadmium
reds (brilliant and deepest) . Over the terra verde underpainting,
the eyes were finished in burnt Sienna and a little cobalt blue,
completed with outlining in the deepest shadow color. This
color was also used in the nostrils and the shadow on the shirt
collar to the left of the cheek.
Step 7 Further modeling in the shadow was repeated as
in Step 2.
To give the color tones time for setting and to allow the
moisture to draw back from the surface, the background was
underpainted in ivory black grey and the shadows in the shirt
in a warmer grey with yellow ocher added. The same color was
also used in the underpainting of the hair.
With the completion of the yth step the painting had been
developed as far as shown in unfinished state. (See illustration.)
In finishing the head it was first given an all over glaze, except
for the eyes. The glaze was mixed from cadmium red, brilliant,
and yellow ocher painted out with a flat broad sable brush of
the showcard type.
Light strokes of vert emeraude, completed with Cobalt
blue, broken with a little cadmium red deep, finished the back-
ground. The shirt was also finished with the painting of the
shadow and the local light and detail set in fairly loosely in
character with the deepest shadow color.
The finishing of the hair, with emphasis on the shadow,
was made over a light overtone of the background color.
Attention was next given to the reflected light. From
cadmium red brilliant and cadmium yellow, reflected light was
painted over the shadow and on the edge and the back of shirt
color in semi-transparent tones.
A light transparent overlay of the vert emeraude and Vene-
tian red over the shadow on the nose and the cheek, deepened
in hatching as in Step 5, completed the shadow.
Details such as eyebrows, depth in the hair, nostrils,
deep hollows, etc., were also made with the deepest shadow
color, with same variations of warmth with burnt Sienna.
The head was completed with a final wash of a light glaze
made of yellow ocher and cadmium red brilliant, a lighter
repetition of the first glaze after Step 7.
Such final glazes will help the setting of all colors and bring
about an even distribution of overall color of the painting by
drawing together the tones.
In most cases, only a wash with pure water will do because
of the presence of small amounts of surplus color powders on
the surface. These small quantities of color, if washed and
distributed evenly, can in many cases do the work as well as a
glaze. Washing or glazing should, however, only be carried
out at the last moment when the colors are slowly starting to
set and feel the pull of the ground. One must always be
familiar with the setting ability and adhesive power of each
individual color, to avert the disaster of lost colors. Abuse of
glazes is another near disaster, as can be seen in works in fresco
of the Italian renaissance.
The painting of the head was finished in 5 hours, including
the making up of the tones, plastering, periods of rest and
70
intervals of waiting for setting of the superimposed colors.
The colors used in the seven steps of painting were made
up in pots for repeated use. Additional painting and finishing
was done from an enamel plate palette.
Throughout the painting the following types of brushes
were used: No. 3 and No. 9 sable water color brushes, a cut
tip lettering brush, two flat fitches 1/4" and %" wide and a i"
wide showcard sable brush.
PAINTING WITH MILK OF LIME MIXED COLORS
Painting with colors mixed with milk of lime white is very
much the same as true gouache painting or painting with the
scenic painters glue and whiting mixed colors. The greatest
difference is the transparency of the lime, which will make an
accurate judgement of the dried shade a little more difficult.
The mixing of the big tones beforehand and the painting
out of the test samples on a lime covered brick are the first
preliminary steps taken before the painting can begin. All such
pre-mixed tones are the leading colors throughout the painting
and are mixed in labeled pots ready for repeated use. It should
be pointed out that the quantity of each color must hold out
to the end of the work. The original test samples are saved
for any eventualities. Many an upset color pot has wrought
havoc to a program of painting. The pre-mixed tones should
of course be narrowed down to only the few that will be in
repeated use, for instance shadows, local colors, etc. Heightening
and strengthening, detail and drawing with the brush are
all painted from the palette using the milk of lime white or
the pre-mixed tones in combination with the ground paste
colors on the palette. Mixing of more than two colors at a time
is to be avoided here just as in any other color technique.
The experienced painter paints his lime mixed colors wet
in wet as much and as quickly as possible. With the help of
large fitches and fresco brushes, he aims at as nearly completed
71
work as possible, leaving only detail and accents to be set in
at the end of the painting and with the smaller brushes.
In such manner of execution and accomplished handling
of lime mixed colors, paintings of great strength, force, and
of true fresco character result.
By using forms in color, painted with less lime or trans-
parently, fine effects in contrast can be achieved. Sharp accents
in heavy lime-loaded color, near white and, set in where they
will do most good, are brilliantly effective and should not be
overlooked by the fresco painter. Fresco will only lend itself
fully to painters with daring and courage, fully prepared to
match their knowledge of painting with a vigorous material
Toning down of too glaring values with a wash of glazing
color is sound as long as it is done before any noticeable setting
has taken place and then only as a straight even coat without
brushmarking of unnecessary effect. In all such toning the char-
acter of the original vigorous brush work must be preserved and
not lost in a weak looking over painting. In experienced painting
with lime mixed colors the feeling of soft airiness with strength
in tone follows after the drying. Quite impervious to surface
injury, they surpass all other lime techniques.
Sometimes troweling with a flexible pointing trowel, espe-
cially over dark shadows will give depth and lustre to such
worked over areas. Troweling over color surfaces should how-
ever be carried out when one is certain of the condition of the
intonaco. Troweling over too fresh a surface might produce
a grey film. The trowel is dipped in clean water or at times
wiped dry before using.
Another method is rolling with a METAL ROLLER, A roller
is made from brass or bronze about i 1 /^" * n diameter, 6 to 8"
long, sloping slightly at each end and provided with a handle
and rounded off edges. Depth in the color, obtained by pressing
back with this roller is similar to the ancient practice of rolling
a wine bottle over the painting, particularly over the faces, to
72
give them smoothness and lustre. In dark colors additional
painting may be done and a second troweling or rolling carried
out. CELLOPHANE or CELLULOID support is used under the roller
to keep it from pressing into the intonaco. Overdone troweling
or rolling is worse than none at all Very light troweling with
a wet finishing trowel will also help to deepen the color shades
but the handling of this trowel over finished work is more
dangerous.
METAL ROLLER-
In summing up, this should be remembered, that the first
two colorcoats serve as a means of conditioning the surface for
painting and the true effectiveness of the colors is reached only
after a certain amount of pigments have covered the intonaco
surface and the pull is felt from it. In other words, when the
foundation of underpainting is laid it helps in building up the
overlayers exactly as the various mortar coats in plastering*
At the end of the work, the ideal condition of the color
surface is reached and the culmination of that effect, lasting
only a little more than an hour, will soon disappear. At this
stage of painting, all finishing must be done and all accents set
in because when this moment has passed, further work on the
painting is impossible.
The experienced painter knows that in this equilibrium of
the intonaco everything added seems to fall in perfectly, auto-
matically and with ease. Therefore he will take good care not
73
to overlook this possibility of a perfect finish to the day's work.
During hot summer days, the arrival of this moment of
perfect balance comes early in the day. To keep it from coming
too soon, a wet SHEET is hung overhead like an awning and is
kept wet during the painting session and during short rest
periods. Hanging a wet sheet directly over the painting, with-
out touching the colors, will also delay the setting a little longer.
The painting of the color coats should be done in such a
way that the color areas meet and blend without leaving small
openings or partly covered brush marks. Such uncovered spots,
spread all over the painting, will, in the final drying and bleach-
ing of the lime, become exceedingly annoying and worse, will
be almost impossible to retouch because of their number and
minuteness.
Underpainting first transparently and ending in opaqueness
is good practice and technically sound. On the other hand, glaze
over opaque requires much care to prevent too deep setting of
the underlayers before the glaze is applied.
Some painters are in the habit of drawing helplines, con-
tours or markings directly on the ground with color, reasoning
that color mixed with water alone will not make much differ-
ence under the intonaco. What actually happens, sometimes
can be seen on old fresco-murals where the plaster has loosened
and fallen over just such places where painting has been carried
out over the ground mortar.
Plain water on dry lime-sand surfaces will set a spot hard
if it remains there for any length of time. Some of the pigments
will do that much faster and prevent overlaid mortar from
adhering.
Charcoal drawing and snapped lines in charcoal are the
only pre-drawn outlining that should be allowed on the ground.
Before the plastering of the skimcoat, all such lines should
have at least part of the surplus coal dust removed by slapping
with a flexible straightedge, thus leaving only faint lines*
74
Another precaution worth remembering is to avoid pressing
one's bare hands on the intonaco or, as is sometimes recom-
mended, to blend the colors with the fingers. The author once
saw a greyish print of four fingertips on the surface of a well
known painter's fresco that had to be removed and retouched.
The reason for this accident was probably hand perspiration.
JOINING
Next to perfection in painting, mastering the art of making
a perfect intonaco joining should be the fresco painter's goal.
The unforeseen absence of the plasterers would seriously
handicap the painter and he should therefore be eager to learn
to do his own intonaco work in the event of such an emergency.
This experience can best be obtained by practising on a test
panel.
METHOD OF CUTTING THE inTOHACO JOINING ED6E
L PARTLV RE/AOVEO IflTONACO
ED5C CLEARED BY ^PUTTING
75
An important preliminary to the joining of the intonaco
is the floating of a skimcoat over the dry and hardened sand
finish. Such a coating has a two fold purpose, first to cut the
hard lime skin on the sand finish and provide a good bond
between the old and the new plaster coats, second to gradually
build up the intonaco and at the same time hold the moisture
as long as possible. Such moist mortar layers are of immense
help in intonaco joining and prolong the time for the plasterers
to do the work properly.
The cutting of the edge of the finished part to provide for
the plaster joint contour, is done before the painting is finished
or while it is still possible to cut into soft intonaco. The contour
should have a curvature as simple as possible (without wedge
like corners which are hard to plaster in joining) , and should
be done with a knife-like tool edge, pressed straight down to
the hard floated surface and drawn along the contemplated
contour. By following folds in garments, or by running the cut
line into dark shadows, matching of the color will be simplified
and invisible. To follow only the outlines of forms will bring
them out in stereotyped silhouette with the color matching
plainly visible. (See illustration.)
The removal of the intonaco margin outside the cut con-
tour, is delayed as long as possible but must be done while the
intonaco can still be split off without injury to the sharp edge
of the contour. Also the margins should be left to prevent the
moisture from leaving the outside edges too soon, with con-
sequent setting of the intonaco and shortening of the painting
time.
Removal of this margin is done by scraping the plaster
coat down to the floated skimcoat. This must be carefully
done and in such a way that the scrapings do not fly around
and settle on the painting above. The scraping is started at
the outside and stopped about 2" from the contour. From
there the plaster coat is split off by pressing the square edge of
the tool straight down. Piece by piece, it is split off until the
clean edge of the contour is reached. This cleaning of the sur-
face should not go beyond the skimcoat or the sand finish and
the edge should be cut straight down, not slanting.
The surface is now ready to receive another part of intonaco
and in the following step by step description the joining is fully
explained.
The joining is made with the finishing trowel. Only small
parts and tight corners are laid with the smaller pointing trowel
The laying of the joint as well as the troweling of the whole
area, are continuous operations, therefore the reason for using
the finishing trowel alone is obvious.
Step iThe floated skimcoating is wetted down by painting
water over the surface with a wall brush of suitable size. For
the wetting of the cut edge a smaller brush is utilized to avoid
splashing or slipping .over the edge. A spot made in such a
mishap is promptly lifted from the color surface by using a
clean brush squeezed out 'in clean water.
Step 2 A watery skimcoat is laid thinly over the marked
off painting part leaving a 6" margin beyond the intended
painting area.
Step 3 Immediately following the skimcoat, intonaco is
quickly spread along the cut edge of the painted area and
squeezed tight against the edge using the corner of the trowel.
Intonaco squeezed over the edge is quickly folded back and
accidental spots lifted as in step i. The spreading of the in-
tonaco and the troweling to an even thickness is done
simultaneously.
Step 4 Dipping the trowel in water and quickly finishing
the joint along the edge of the color followed by light troweling
over the whole area are the best means of preventing the
annoying dryness of the edge next to the joint. Prolonged
troweling will cause steel to be rubbed off the trowel and settle
77
as grey smudges on the intonaco. This should be avoided as
much as possible. Speed only can prevent this from happening.
Step 5 Shortly after the finished troweling, the surface is
given a light spray of water which is left to penetrate before
the transfer of the drawing is made, either by imprinting or
dusting with the pounce bag.
The following pages of illustrations
are worts in fresco painting, where
the various descriptions of the tech-
niques involved in the building up of
the ground and the actual painting
made a practical application under
Mr. NorchnarFs direct supervision.
79
These two illustrations show a self portrait
painted by the author in Fresco Technique; one
developed only up to a certain point and the
other fully completed. (For a complete step-by-
step description, see Pages 67 to 71.)
So
r f he painting of this self portrait was finished in
five hours including the make-up of tones,
plastering and the waiting intervals allowed for
the setting of the superimposed colors.
TVA WORKER AND FAMILY
PLEADING THE GOLD CASE
CUSTOM HOUSE WORKERS
SURVEYING NEW LANDS
"SOCIETY FREED THROUGH JUSTICE" BY GEORGE BIDDLE
Detail from Fresco in the Department of
Justice Building, Washington, D, C.
SECCO PAINTING IN LIMECOLOR
CHAPTER NINE
AINTING in SECCO should be of interest to many mural
painters because of the ease of this technique. The painter, by
using this method, can work more at leasure as the rigid time
limit which confronts the fresco painter is eliminated.
The painting is done in combination with a LIME WASH
over a well floated sand finished lime-sand plastering in
the three regular coats, scratch coat, brown coat and sand
finish.
TOOLS and MATERIELS are the same as those used in fresco
painting. To the COLOR PIGMENTS listed as permanent in fresco
a few more may be added, ie: COBALT GREEN, dark and light,
ALIZARIN MADDER, RAW TIMBER, RAW SIENNA, MARS ORANGE
and MARS BROWN. Some of the poorly setting colors (the blacks,
blues and violets) if mixed in a weak casein binder can be used
in the upper layers of the color tones.
The most important addition to the tools is a LIME WASH
BRUSH. (See illustration.) This type of brash must be made from
the highest quality 5" long grey bristle securely set in the
handle. Only the best grades of such brushes will render satis-
factory service in preparing the surface for successful secco
painting.
Before proceeding with the step by step description of the
preparation for actual painting, a few words should be said
about the foundation color. Because of the necessity of under-
painting in secco technique, the color tones of the lime-wash
foundation become important to the tonality of the mural
Painting over a pure white lime-wash is tedious and wholly
impractical. Lime white bleaches and will, in time, bring out
the color forms in a cold, hard and disconnected way. On the
other hand a light colored surface tends to hold the color
scheme together and lend support to the general impression of
the tone as a whole.
LIME WASH BRUSH
The three following examples of foundation color have
been used by the author and found very effective. For a warm
whiteness, raw umber is well adapted to lime but only in light
shadings, almost a silvery white. If made warmer with a small
addition of yellow ocher, the tone takes on a slightly golden
hue. A luminous neutral white, akin to the tone of the sand
finish, is made by mixing ivory black, yellow ochre and light
red in lime wash. Charcoal black in lime will render the wall
silvery grey but of a somewhat colder tone.
The lime-wash is prepared as follows:
Step i Diluted putty lime is strained through a 29-32 mesh
sieve into a steel drum holding enough lime to last throughout
6-7 coatings of the area to be painted. The first and second
coats are made with white lime, without the foundation color.
Step 2 The respective colors to be used in the toning of
the lime white are separately stirred up in clear water 7 at first
into a paste (to rid the colors of lumps) , later diluted with
water to facilitate easy mixing.
Step 3 Into the strained lime set apart for the last 2-3 coats,
each color is stirred in one after the other through the strainer
carefully checking the tone against a sample set off on a dry
lime-painted brick. Pouring the colors through a strainer will
keep them from streaking in the paint coat. A fine tea strainer
will adequately serve the purpose.
Step 4 After the color tone has been reached, the work is
begun by sweeping the sandfinish with a soft unused dusting
brush to clear the surface of loose sand particles and dust.
Application of the Lime-Wash
Step i Clear water is sprayed or painted over the sand
finish twice with a short interval to allow the first wetting to
draw into the plaster coat. The second wetting saturates the
surface.
Step 2 The lime-white is diluted with water to a trans-
parent lime-wash and stirred until completely mixed. A few
drops of the mixture on the thumbnail will indicate the degree
of transparency when the first coat mixture is ready to use.
Step 3 The first coat is slowly and carefully painted out
without leaving small uncovered spots, in secco a matter of
importance. By dipping the brush only halfway into the wash
and squeezing out the surplus paint against the bucket edge,
the brush can be kept from dripping and running for a long
time. The lime-wash is painted out in zig-zag strokes away
from the face and without any marked direction and wet in
wet keeping the paint edge from drying out too fast and from
becoming a straight line. Curves and bulges on the edge will
easily hide any joints apt to appear in the drying.
Step 4 Constant stirring of the lime-wash is imperative
during the painting of the foundation if a well laid lime-wash
is desired. Drying out of the first coating will be necessary to
determine the condition of the lime-washing. A second slightly
heavier mixture is painted out in the same manner, this time
taking care to "even out" as much as possible. The third and
fourth coatings are also made a little fatter by adding more
lime or less water. The same principle is followed exactly as in
plastering, fat over lean. All the coatings except the first are
painted one over the other as the preceding one shows signs
of drying.
Step 5 Immediately after the lime coats have dried to a
fairly even whiteness, the color coats can be put on, painted
as before. The stirring of the color between the brush dips is
of the utmost importance to avoid a disturbing unevenness in
the drying.
Step 6 The color coats are also made fatter by addition of
less water or a heavier mixture. All the coats should be applied
as carefully and evenly as possible. Direction of the brushing
must not show and drowning of the characteristic grain in the
floated finish should be avoided. The slight tooth in a floated
surface holds the color film firmly and produces the sparHe and
VIBRATO characteristic of lime painting whereas clogging of
the grain by thick lime-wash, showing brush strokes, lowers the
work to a painting over common white-wash.
If the mural is of very large proportions or a lengthy execu-
tion of the painting is contemplated, the last two coatings
should be laid on in piece meal fashion to guard against too
heavy carbonization of the lime-wash. Three to four day working
areas can be covered ahead of time with the foundation color
in one or two coatings before any appreciable lime skin will
form. The foundation color in secco painting corresponds to
the intonaco in fresco and only the lime used in fresco painting
is usable in secco. All other kinds will come off as a white
powder by rubbing and will cause endless trouble. Correction
of such a mishap is possible only by re-plastering a new floated
90
thin sand finish. Trials on the test panel will convince the
painter that the warning is no exaggeration.
Only new and unused buckets and other utensils are in
order for work in lime.
Just as in the preliminary work in fresco, the surface is
inspected for cracks, spots, etc., which are repaired and the
surface rendered fault free. A slight tooth left in the surfacing
by the ioat will hold the colors indefinitely, especially if the
work on the wall plastering has been carried out with the same
care as in fresco plastering. Secco murals last as long as the
constructed wall stands and is free from the danger of moisture
seeping into the plaster, either through leaks or faulty insulation
from the ground.
The preparation of sketches, cartoons and pounces is iden-
tical to that in fresco work. Colors and milk of lime are also
made and stored as previously described. The same kind of
brashes used in the same manner as in fresco are given an
occasional rinsing in clear water during painting sessions and
to prevent the colors from becoming diluted and weakened, the
water is squeezed out of the bristles between the fingers after
each rinsing. Pouncing charcoal dust is slapped off partly before
outlining, finger marks and charcoal drawing is removed with
the soft part of white bread, or in bad cases with a kneaded
eraser.
Good practice in secco painting is given in the following
step by step description and just a reminder to the painter
using this book only good practice and plenty of it oa a test
panel will guarantee the outcome of the work.
SECCO PAINTING
Step i Outlining or brush drawing of the pounced draw-
ing can be done with ivory black diluted to a grey or a weak
yellow ochre, dark ochre or Mars yellow. Terra verde is also
especially valued in preliminary drawing of this kind. The
9 1
drawing is carried out with a few accents for the shadows to
give a painted impression of the drawing rather than an out-
lined one. Too rigid outlining in a single running line tends
to show through to the finish and a certain feeling of flat paint-
ing follows.
Step 2 Secco paintings have a peculiar characteristic of
weakness before setting and hardening has taken place. Several
months of setting might be necessary to bring out the full force
of the painting since setting and hardening alone will give the
final depth to the colors in all lime painting.
Through long experience, the author has found under-
painting in light airy tones of a silvery quality to be the answer
to the problem of keeping the color values at their full intensity.
The underpainting will also help to keep the picture forms
before the painter at all times and thus help him in the final
evaluation of the tones in cold and warm contrasts as well as
in the chiaroscuro.
Step 3 UNDERPAINTING in successive layers of yellow ochre,
light red, terra verde and black is all mixed with milk of lime
and used lean and fluid. Other colors such as Caput Mortuum
and Venetian red are also employed in the underpainting usually
in brighter spots of deeper coloring. Vine black mixed in milk
of lime is used instead of a blue color and to give the under
painting the much valued silvery tone so necessary for a clear
value in the finished work. Strong colors must be excluded in
the preliminary painting. Light variations in cold and warm
and halftones, only slightly deeper than the foundation color
are painted out in a flat fashion without any attempt at model-
ing. By painting over the outlined drawing in a free and loose
fashion, the painter will not be bound to a given rigid style too
early in the work. Each separate operation should give the
impression of a finished work, the brush drawing as well as the
underpainting. This impression, if maintained until the end,
will be the best insurance for a perfectly balanced tonality.
92
Step 4 OVERPAINTING is done in colors mixed in LIME-
WATER made by pouring 4 to 5 parts of water over i part of
lime in a barrel The lime is stirred up in the water occasionally
to produce the lime water used in the mixing and diluting of
all colors used for the work. Each time lime water is withdrawn,
clear water is poured back and charged by stirring. As soon as
the lime has settled down and the water has cleared it is again
ready to be used. Carbonization of the lime floating on top of
the water like ice floats is removed by lifting out with a dry
piece of tile.
Step 5 The actual painting is done in transparent color at
first and finished with milk of lime mixed colors, semi-trans-
parent and opaque especially in the light shades. Some of the
colors (blacks and blues) have a tendency to powder off by
rubbing and should be prevented from loosening by adding a
little fresh skim milk to the color. The formation of casein will
prevent rubbing off of the top layers. 6 or 7 parts of cottage
cheese mixed with i part of putty lime and diluted with 7 parts
of water is a casein binder of ancient reputation. Such binders
are however only used in the uppermost color coats and should
be diluted to barely binding strength. Overdoses will give the
color surface a greasy appearance.
Step 6-The sequence of the color tones follows the prac-
tice of laying warm over cold to preserve the clear transparency
of the colors. Also never mix more than two colors together.
The third is superimposed or under-painted. An occasional light
brushing over the painted part with clear lime water is helpful,
not only to set the under coloring, but immensely helpful in
fine distribution of transparent overpainting.
Step 7-Erasure of secco paintings is best done by over-
painting with lime white after the spot has been well wetted
clown. Several thin overpaintings with the lime are better than
a couple of coatings with thick white which will pile up in very
clumsy looking patches. The various coats should dry out before
93
the next application otherwise the undercoating wil be unsatis-
factory if the lime hasn't been given sufficient time to bite into
the already carbonized undersurface.
Burnt sienna sometimes will bleed through such overpaint-
ings with lime white. Even outlining with burnt sienna has
sometimes worked through thin plaster coats. It is most im-
portant therefore to use the color in such a way that this
characteristic will be the least harmful.
Painted out portions must be perfectly dry before any
attempt is made to renew painting.
Step 8 Large color areas are always painted from pre-mixed
colors in pots. In fact, most of the painting should be done in
this same practical and speedy way.
Step 9 Murals within the reach of touching can be given
extra protection by spraying with clear lime water several times,
starting at the bottom and working upwards. Surplus color dust,
washed off and in fine distribution over the painting helps to
draw the tonality together and give distinction to the values.
In case of disappearance or weakening of some part of the
color, retouching with cheese casein mixed color will restore
the painting.
94
MODELING OF RELIEF IN MORTAR
CHAPTER TEN
M
..ODELING IN RELIEF of decorative elements in fresco or
secco painting has been relied upon for special effects from
ancient times.
Before the laying of the colors, all intonaco surface belong-
ing to this part of the pouncing is carefully scratched and
sharply defined in the painting.
Building up of the relief can only begin after the intonaco
has hardened. Relief protruding more than %" over the surface
is reinforced by driving appropriate size COPPER NAILS into the
scratched surface before the modeling takes place. Relief higher
than il/i" is built up with a scratched core over the nailheads
made from a 1-2 sand-lime mixture with about 1/5 of the
volume mixed with ATLAS STAINLESS WHITE CEMENT. As in the
building up of a fresco ground, thorough moistening of each
layer before the application of the next one must not be over-
looked. Of equal importance is the occasional wetting of the
cement coat for a couple of days before another layer is started.
Hammering in the nails before the intonaco has had suffi-
cient time to dry hard, might jar it loose in the last plastered
areas and should therefore be avoided at all cost. Only
methodically carried out work in lime and sand will have any
permanent value.
The pointing trowel and the hawk, together with a few steel
MODELING TOOLS in various shapes, a small wetting brush and
95
MOULOERi TOOLJ
a sponge is all that is needed for most of the work. The still
fresh relief can, after the modeling is finished, be POLYCHROMED
in fresco or after having dried out finished in wax gilding.
Relief up to 2" can safely be modeled in mortar if sufficient
care is taken in the building up of the core and time is given
to let the intonaco dry and harden before any work is under-
taken that might jeopardize the painting itself.
The painting can be safeguarded from dropping mortar by
fastening profiles of the drawing cut from strong BROWN PAPER
by following the pounced outlines. The pieces are fitted under
each place where modeling is to begin and held in place with
small squares of Scotch tape. If the painting has not dried
sufficiently the Scotch tape will, on removal, peel off the color.
Cellulose tape is too sticky and may injure the surface of the
plaster.
GILDING
LAYING OF GOLD AND SILVER over parts of fresco or secco
painting is generally left to a professional gilder. The painter
should however be able to do the gilding himself. The method
described below has been used by the author for many years
and its simplicity of execution and permanence is very well
known. The parts to be gilded, if not already marked in the
painting, are outlined in white chalk either by hand or by
pouncing.
YELLOW BEESWAX is melted slowly in a wax pot made from
a narrow high tin can, provided with a wooden handle. (See
illustration.) The heating can be done over an ALCOHOL LAMP
or a STERNO DRY HEAT arrangement. A small alcohol lamp,
WAX POT WITH STCRHO DRY HEAT
LAMP
attached to and hanging underneath the wax pot, is very prac-
tical for working overhead. Into the hot melted wax some
VENETIAN TURPENTINE (of the very best grade obtainable) is
poured. At first only a small portion, about a fifth, is poured
in and a sample is tested for adhesiveness. The sample can be
tried on any dry plastered surface and should have enough
Venetian turpentine mixed with the wax to hold the GOLDLEAF
securely to the wax surface. The wax should pile up from
repeated overlayings in relief and should not break off after
cooling and hardening. It must be used hot enough to flow
out easily and leave a smooth surface. Repeated heating to
keep it at flowing consistency is therefore of great importance
97
Overheating of the wax must be avoided because of danger of
fire explosion and also because prolonged heating will spoil the
Venetian turpentine.
VERMILLION RED mixed in the wax is used under goldleaf
and ULTRAMARINE RED Or SOHie BLUE AND ROSE MADDER Under
genuine SILVERLEAF.
BRISTLE BRUSHES of different sizes are employed to
paint out the wax medium. To prevent the wax from run-
ing over the hand, a small paper funnel is tied to the brush
handle. To facilitate easier control of the hot wax in laying
lines, lettering, etc., the brush handle is held tilted up ? thus
literally lifting the wax in place. This manner of handling the
brush makes the wax run off quicker and out to the tip of the
brush. Cooled and stiff wax is scraped off against the edge of
the pot and remelted. Working overhead, the handle is held
parallel with the surface to keep the wax from dripping.
By repeated over laying, the wax is easily piled up in relief
and ornamentation in relief will set off the gold or silver against
the painting strongly and effectively, in small scale on the
color sketch as well as in full size on the mural.
Gilding or laying the gold leaf is simple. The GOLDBOQK is
torn against the straightedge into strips of the same size as the
parts waxed for gilding: the width of lines, bands, letter staples,
etc. Cutting with a pair of scissors will keep the gold from
separating from the protective paper edge and tearing. The strip
CORRECT HOLDING
AMD MOVIhO OP THE
60LDLEAF
is held Inside the left hand between the index and middle fingers,
folded back over the index finger and held with the thumb.
One paper strip with a gold leaf is picked from underneath
the thumb and, hanging outside the right hand, moved straight
towards and laid over the wax and pressed down lightly, the
paper cover is left to fall to the floor and before the gold is
pressed home, the whole waxed part is laid piece by piece in
the same way with the edges overlapping. A wad of surgical
cotton is used to press the gold down firmly and a fluffy CAMEL'S
GltDERJ*
DUSTER
HAIR BRUSH to dust off the surplus. If hundreds of books are
laid, the loose gold is saved by holding a paper bag under the
place to be dusted and together with the used cotton is sold
to a dealer in old gold.
The laying of the wax should, if possible, be done only in
warm temperatures as cold and dampness will make the wax
harden and collect enough moisture on the surface to hinder
the gold from adhering properly. Wiping with a soft rag will
sometimes help to overcome the trouble, but working in a
warm temperature will eliminate this altogether.
After a few days of drying and hardening, the gold or silver
is rubbed off on the highlights with the hand. At first very
little rubbing is done and the effect is judged from a distance,
additional rubbing off or regilding can be done as desired.
Leaf protecting varnish, procured from a dealer in gold leaf,
is applied over the gilding after the rubbing has been completed.
This precaution is taken in places attended by many people
99
such as churches and theatres. The protective varnish must be
thin and invisible, especially made for the protection of gold
leaf. Because of its rapid blackening by oxidation, silver should
be protected as soon as it can withstand the brushing on of
the varnish after hardening.
100
RETOUCHING
CHAPTER ELEVEN
R,
.ETOUCHING in small patches on a new fresco or secco
mural is quite possible if the painting is completely dry "before
the attempt to retouch is made.
Damp colors do not give the true shade and in as much
as the retouching is done a secco, naturally the matching of
tones must also be done against dry not damp colors.
Retouching if abused or carried out over a fairly large por-
tion of the mural is next to worthless. Scraping off and replaster-
ing with new intonaco and repainting is the professional way
of taking care of large size mistakes or weak painting in fresco.
However, small patches or spots are frequently touched up by
the painter and by a little experimentation on the test panel
over a dry tryout painting he will soon find out how much he
can touch up and still "get away with it."
SILICATE POTASH SOLUTION mixed with water, about i part
of solution to 6 parts of water is, if experimented with a little,
a good retouching medium. The colors are mixed in the medium
in small quantities (for convenience in small color pots) and
matched correctly with the original. Fresh medium must be
made up several times during lengthy works as only with a
perfectly fresh solution has the retoucher any guarantee of
success.
On a test painting, small patches of the matched colors are
painted out to determine, first, the strength of the medium
101
to bind the colors and second, if when dried out the medium
has the same sheen as the original so as to blend with the sur~
sounding colors.
All color patching is done with small water color brushes,
No. 7-9 or smaller. During the work with this solution, the
brushes are frequently washed in clear water to keep the silicate
from settling in the brush roots and, if left for a few minutes,
they should be washed out before being laid down.
In the painting small brush strokes are laid side by side
similar to the threads in rough woven material. By using small
brushes, complete control of the color value is readily possible.
Color repairing on old murals is done in a slightly different
manner. With pre-matched colors the spot is filled in with
sloping lines. Seen in "close-up" the repair should be clearly
noticeable, while from a distance it should blend with the
surroundings and become invisible. In this way, no attempt
has been made to hide the repair (important in work on valuable
murals) and no appreciable change in tone will take place*
Retouching however is something to be avoided rather than
to be relied upon as a possible margin of safety during the
execution of fresco murals,
CLEANING
No attempt should be made to "clean" murals in fresco
or secco painting without the help of an experienced technician.
All cleaning should be of the least dangerous variety, DUSTING.
A VACCUM CLEANER provided with a broad nozzle, without the
brush, is one of the best tools for cleaning large murals by
removing the dust, operation number one in all cleaning of
works of art. Sometimes if a brush is used directly over the
intonaco, sharp particles of sand, protruding over the surface,
will catch in the bristles and break off leaving a white spot. RAGS
will damage the surface in the same manner, when on the
other hand a vacuum cleaner lifts the dust out without rubbing
102
it Into the myriad of small crevices present in plastered sur-
faces. To keep the edge of the nozzle from pushing off sand, it
should be run over a piece of washed LINEN SCREEN about a yard
square, stretched taut over a frame. The frame is held firmly
over the surface in contact with the color film, thus acting as
a protective surface over which to run the cleaner. The nozzle
is run in all directions as straight running lanes would show
after the dusting, particularly in artificial light.
Cleaning with water in spots is almost impossible on fresco
and secco murals because of the settling of the dust on the sur-
face and the danger of the greying of the colors after drying.
This is especilly common when fine sand dust is present in
the air. By dabbing a moist sponge on a dark color area, the
firmness of the color film can be tested before water cleaning
is attempted. Color corning off in such a test will not with-
stand any cleaning. Fixing of loose color can sometimes be
done by spraying clear lime water over the spot. A FIXATIVE
ATOMIZER with a fine spray is used and an interval of drying
allowed between sprays. Two or three thicknesses of white
blotting paper are held beneath the area sprayed to prevent
the running water from streaking below.
On murals where all colors are found to adhere firmly to
the intonaco and the plaster coat is free of faults, water cleaning
can be done by using a hand sprayer and distilled water. The
spraying is started at the bottom and continued horizontally
upwards to enable the dust and dirt to run off on a wet surface
thus preventing streaking and settling of the dirty water. Heavy
white blotting paper is held in readiness to pick up surplus
water and is used lightly and quickly to dry the surface super-
ficially. In fairly old work this is a necessity, as lengthy soaking
might develop efflorescence caused by the presence of caustic
lime activated by the moisture.
Piece meal cleaning takes skill and patience in any medium
and to really know when a part can be called "clean" or has
103
undergone some change in the cleaning process may sometimes
"stump" even an expert.
The least dangerous and the well known methods in such
undertakings should be tried first, before the wet mediums are
resorted to. Erasure of soot and loose dirt with the soft inside
part of WHITE or FRENCH BREAD, a day old, is fairly safe, pro-
vided the colors are holding firmly. As soon as the bread crumbs
become dirty, they should be replaced with clean ones. Erasing
is done in every direction to avoid visible straight lines and
lanes. In spots where some color rubs off, the work should be
stopped or done very lightly and shaded off into the nearest
area already cleaned. Bread cleaning methods are old and well
known in the removal of dirt from painted surfaces.
MODERN WALL PAPER CLEANERS of the eraser type, if guaran-
teed not to cause changes in the colors are other possibilities in
cleaning murals. ART GUM or rubber erasers in general are danger-
ous to colors such as the ultramarines because of the sulphur film
left after erasing and the abrasive quality of some of the harder
kinds will eat into the protective film of carbonized lime.
Unwarranted cleaning and retouching is a bigger menace
to paintings than a film of dirt or a spot of grease. In some cases
the sad end of the entire painting tonality.
Maintenance of fresco and secco murals should be limited
to a carefully carried out dusting every 15-20 years and filling
in of color over repairs. All other cleanings and "improvements"
are of very dubious value and actually dangerous to the paint-
ing if not done by or under supervision of an experienced
renovator.
REPAIRING
Cracks, holes and deep scratches in fresco murals are, in
general, not hard to repair. The same sequence used in the
building up of the plastercoats, and the same mortar is also
104
used in the repairing of damage or deficiency in the plaster
coats.
Deep holes are thoroughly moistened with a small sponge
to prevent the running of water over sound areas. The bottom
of the hole is filled in with a 3-1 sand-lime mortar criss-
crossed a little with the trowel point. The second filling is made
from a 2-1 mortar and applied after some drying of the bottom
filling. Good wetting of the mortar layers is essential in repair
work as well as drying in between fillings. If sand intonaco has
been used, a similar 7-5 intonaco is used, otherwise a 1-1 marble
dust coat is sufficient.
Large patches are painted in full fresco from pre-matched
colors, tested for true shades and values and made up in color
pots, labeled with full information to avoid mistakes in the
application. Small holes and cracks are moistened and soft
fine intonaco is squeezed down. Mortar, squeezed out over
the edge is lifted off with a palette knife while still fresh to
prevent its adhering to the painted surface. Sometimes when
ragged edges in cracks would prevent a clean job, it may be
necessary to cut such edges clean without widening the crack.
Smaller repairs are left to dry out and are touched up in
silicate potash colors. At times the shape or the nature of
the damage will prevent the mortar from penetrating into the
CRACK
FiLune
WITH PAPER
PUMMEL
105
crack, etc., in the proper way. Through the utilization of small
PAPER FUNNELS in the same way as the bakers decorate their
cakes, very neat repair jobs can be done with ease. Strong
PARCHMENT PAPER, used in cooking, is especially useful for
making the small funnels. They are held together with rubber
cement and the opening cut to fit the place to be repaired, A
fine mixture of marble dust intonaco, pushed through a sieve
is used for filling up the crack. The mixture is poured into a
funnel and after closing the top by folding the paper twice,
the intonaco is pushed into the crack by squeezing the funnel
as you would a paint tube. Soiling of the surface below the
place of repair is prevented by covering with a piece of paper
fastened with SCOTCH TAPE and the under edge of the paper
bent up to catch falling intonaco. Moisture under the tape
will prevent hard sticking and just briefly hold the paper to
the color film.
Loose and bulging intonaco can, in some cases, if not too
far out from the plaster base, be repaired by squeezing a prop-
JYRIM0E
SUPPORTIMG
BRACE
erly compounded CEMENTING AGENT through pinhole open-
ings in the faulty places with a SYRINGE, a special kind of small
hand sprayer. The loose plaster is pressed back slightly and a
106
piece of FELT is laid over the repair and over this a piece of
board, a little larger than the repaired place. The board is held
in place by a support wedged in between the board and the
scaffolding where it is left until the cement has dried and
safely anchored the loose intonaox The nature of the loose
plaster coat and the age of the mural will determine the kind
of cementing agent to be used. The syringe is also used in
filling cracks and cementing flaking color surface.
107
PRELIMINARY WORK FOR
PLASTERING
CHAPTER TWELVE
i
,N ORDER to prevent damage from lime plastering, extensive
covering of floors, paneling, pilasters, pillars, statutary, etc., must
be carried out. Hardwood floors, oak floors, finished or un-
finished, are especially sensitive to lime. Wax is no guarantee
against prolonged action of lime. The following system of floor
covering has been worked out by the author and used with
success to insure perfect safety for the interior finishes.
Lengthwise, over the wooden floor, lengths of BUILDING
PAPER are laid out, after the floor has been swept free of dust
and grit that might mar the finish. The edges must overlap 5"
and have strips of strong BROWN PAPER pasted over the joints
to prevent them from slipping and to prevent the grit from
penetrating between. The paper is cut clean and tight against
the baseboards.
Over this paper covering, heavy ROOFING PAPER is laid with
3"-4" overlapping edges placed between the underlying joints
to secure a tight cover. The edges are left open without the
pasted strips and the open edge faced away from the fresco
so that the sweeping will be away from it also. Bricks or other
weights are placed on the edges to keep the paper in place.
Along the baseboard, WOOD LATH strips are nailed over the
paper, tight against the baseboard. Fine FINISHING NAILS are
used leaving only insignificant holes that will fill in wheni the
108
PROTECTIVE FCOOR
COVERIM&
HAILED DOWn LATH STRIPS
PARTED BASE BOAStD COV^Rfff6
WES6HTED DOWS1
COVER JOINT
__ __ OVE.RLAPPIH6 PAPER JOfHTj
BUILDiri6> PAPER
PASTED PAPER 3TR1P-
floor is waxed. Strong PAPER strips are pasted on the edge of
the baseboard. These should hang loose and be wide enough
to cover the lath strips to prevent water from seeping under
the floor covering. Window glass is protected from being mortar
spattered by placing newspapers over them. Over large windows,
starting from the bottom, newspaper is hung, held in place
with small dabs of paste and overlapping in successive layers,
if necessary, to the top. The windows are uncovered when the
plastering is finished and covered again when a new coat is
about to be laid.
Wood paneling is covered by hanging paper over it and
pasting the edges to the edge of the wood next to the fresco
ground. The wood is completely covered and over the paper
109
a clean TAEFAULIN is hung and fastened by lath strips nailed
over it. This will prevent the wet mortar and water from getting
under the covering. When the plastering is finished the covered
edges are scraped off and cleaned with a WHISK BROOM immedi-
ately after the work has moved on. To allow mortar to stay on
finished interior moulding or edges, even though covered, would
be to invite a great deal of trouble.
Edges, bordering the fresco ground, are given extra protec-
tion by using WATERPROOFED or OILED paper under the
tarpaulin.
Wooden stairways are covered in the same fashion as floors.
A lath strip is nailed along the inside corner of the steps to keep
the covering from slipping. As an extra precaution, boards are
nailed down to the edge of each step. Boards over tarpaulin
are also laid over the floor in the working area. Tarpaulins must
be clean and free from holes and, during and after water spray-
ing, all puddles should be quickly removed with a large sponge
and the floor swept to facilitate drying.
Under the scaffolding uprights, a piece of new board will
prevent chafing through the floor covering.
To complete the protection of the floor, wheelbarrows with
rubber wheels should be run over plank runways and extra
tarpaulin and planks placed under the mortar box.
Marble pilasters and mouldings, etc. are protected by past-
ing white newsprint over the surfaces and sculptured work and
columns by additional boarding up. Marble floors are covered
the same as wooden ones, except that instead of nailing strips,
the boards are weighted down.
The paste used for applying the paper to the surfaces to be
covered must be such that simple moistening with water will
facilitate its- removal. STARCH OR FLOUR PASTE is generally used
and is made as to Hows: Either one is mixed with cold water
and allowed to boil for a few minutes. The paste should not
be too heavy and is ready for use when cold. The paper is laid
no
out in rows with the edges overlapping *^>". The paste is applied
in one operation to all sheet edges with a 2"-3" brush. All work
to safeguard the interior should be done with great care, while
working with lime mortar and is of the utmost importance.
Negligence in the use of lime and mortar, water spraying, brick
cleaning with acids or the dropping of heavy tools or planks
may cause irreparable damage to a finished interior. Accidents
such as the kicking over of buckets or color pots or the dropping
of color loaded brushes are among the most frequent ones.
Oak turns black from the action of the lime while anilin
stains will bleach in spots from lime. Both are impossible to
repair invisibly. The glossy finish of marble may turn mat and
dull from lime-mortar spatter.
COLOR BOXES (sec illustration) for keeping color pots,
brushes and other tools are the best safeguards against such
accidents.
COLOR BOX
111
THE SCAFFOLD
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
T
JL i
HE PAINTER of an extensive mural usually inherits the scaf-
fold from the plasterers and other workmen. If he is not experi-
enced or accustomed to working on a scaffold, he should take
a few extra precautions before taking over the uprights and
braces, planks and a good deal of debris which will comprise
his future working place.
His first task should be to have it cleaned up. Then the
carpenters should reinforce it to eliminate the swaying always
caused by its having been used for heavy work for some time.
The planks should be straightened out, the warped ones either
replaced or have wedges placed under the ends. Painters all
have the habit of stepping back for a better view of the paint-
ing, therefore a waist high rail should be attached on the outside
as the scaffold would be dangerous without it.
All walking planks must be of exactly the same thickness
as any difference in thickness might cause a bad fall Even a
good scare caused by the sensation of falling off is a bad feature
of planks of an uneven thickness.
To have a tight floor laid to walk on is unnecessary. Regular
heavy unyielding scaffolding planks, free of big knots and laid
out with i%" openings between them are adequate. They are
easy to move to one side for a free unobstructed view through
the scaffold from below when working high up on a wall or a
ceiling. Before moving planks or reinforcing the scaffold, etc.,
112
the fresh part of the paintings as well as the color table must
be covered to prevent settling of the dust which always arises
during such work. If the scaffold is going to be used for a
considerable length of time, the ends of the planks are generally
nailed down to prevent them from slowly slipping out of place
and causing an accident. Extra planks under the working tables
on the scaffold prevent them from shaking and upsetting the
color pots.
If improvements on the scaffold are needed it is best to have
a carpenter do such work. When a large and complicated scaf-
fold is used it becomes doubly important to be assisted by
experienced workmen.
When walking planks are extended and laid end to end,
they must be nailed down. If the plank ends are placed one
above the other they should have small wedges placed under
the raised plank ends to prevent wobbling.
Do not use stepladders on scaffolds, instead have a carpenter
make up a few STEPS, wider than a stepladder and easy to move
around. This arrangement is especially convenient when an
extra scaffold would obstruct the view and take up valuable
space.
Another practical hint is to place the water bucket on one
single plank, not over the openings of two planks as stepping
on either one will upset the bucket immediately or at least spill
the water.
A PULLEY with a strong ROPE attached to an extending bar
on the outside of the scaffold is a great help in hoisting up heavy
materials.
Last, a water hose which reaches to the top and across is
very convenient.
Instead of the light-blocking and shadow making heavy
wooden scaffold of former days; the painter of today can have
the enjoyment of working on the modern, slender locking steel
scaffold made from steel tubing. Rigid and safe, with most of
113
the bad features of the wooden scaffold eliminated. The modern
scaffold seems to have endless combinations of practicability*
114
SOURCES OF SUPPLIES
o
NLY the highly specialized materials and tools of the trade
have been classified. Common building material such as bank-
sand for the plastering trade can be found locally as a rale.
The quality of the pigments from the color houses and the
lime from the listed firms is well known to the author from
long experience.
Brushes and trowels should be purchased from manufac-
turers or supply houses specializing in such items.
BRUSHES
Cordbound fresco brushes, scenic painter's fitches, cutters,
liners, sable water-color brushes, cut-tip lettering brushes.
Source: M. Grumbacher.
460 W. 3 4 th St., New York, N. Y.
Scenic painter's fitches, cutters, liners, riggers.
Source: A. Leiser & Co.
48 Horatio St., New York, N. Y.
Water-color brushes, show-card, stripers, sky brushes, gilders,
dusters.
Source: F. Weber Co.
1621 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa.
115
CEMENT
Atlas White Stainless Cement,
Source: Building material dealers and lumber yards.
COLORS
Lime proof pigments for fresco and lime-secco painting.
Source: Fezandie and Sperrle Inc.
205 Fulton St., New York, N. Y.
M. Grumbacher (Schmincke fresco colors)
460 W. 34th St., New York, N. Y.
F. Weber Co.
1621 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Permanent Pigments
1127 Sixth St., Cincinnati, Ohio
Winsor & Newton Inc.
31 Union Square, New York, N. Y.
Schneider & Co., Inc. (Block powder colors)
123 W. 68th St., New York, N. Y.
COLOR GRINDING EQUIPMENT
Mullers, slabs, palette knives, spatulas.
Source: The Senefelder Co., Inc.
32-34 Greene St., New York, N. Y.
Glass rnullers and glass slabs:
Source: Artist's supply stores.
DISTILLED WATER
Source: Water dealers, consult the classified telephone
book.
116
DRAWING, DETAIL., TRACING PAPER
Source: Arthur Brown & Bro.
67 W. 44th St., New York, N. Y.
Keuffel & Esser Co.
60 E. 42nd St., New York, N. Y.
FIBER
Cocoanut fiber, goat's hair (used in scratch coats) .
Source: Building material dealers, lumber yards.
FURRING MATERIALS
Source: Building material dealers, lumber yards.
GOLD AND SILVER LEAF
Source: W. H. Kemp Co.
43 W. i6th St., New York, N. Y.
LIME
Aged high calcium lime putty in steel drums (9 cubic feet
per drum) .
Source: Colonial Sand & Stone Co., Inc.
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N. Y.
Unslaked high calcium lime, powdered, in paper sacks and
barrels.
Source: Veri-Fat powdered quick lime in 100 Ib. sacks.
Ashgrove, Missouri Lime Co., Mo.
Peerless White Lime Company
Ste. Genevieve, Mo.
METAL ROLLERS
Source: Ordered from local machinists.
117
MIXING HOES
Source: Hardware stores,
MORTARS AND PESTLES
Source: Eimer & Amend
633-35 Greenwich St., New York, N. Y.
Drug stores
PERFORATING WHEELS
Source: Artists supply stores.
PLUMBLINES NON-TWIST 7 PLUMB BOBS
Source: Hardware Stores*
SAND
Source: Colonial Sand and Stone Co., Inc.
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N, Y.
Banksand (river sand) No. 67 coarse, No. 66 fine.
Source: Whitehead Bros. Co,
537 W. 2 7 th St., New York, N. Y.
Banksand (Cow Bay) , coarse.
Source: Exner Sand & Gravel Corp.
880 Zerega Ave., The Bronx, New York, N. Y.
Quartz sand, fine and rough.
Source: Penn Glass Sand Corp,
Louiston, Pa.
George F. Pettinos
1200 Locust St., Philadelphia, Pa.
118
MARBLE MEAL AND MARBLE DUST
Source: Building material dealers.
In other localities consult the classified tele-
phone directory or order through the local
building material dealers or lumber yards.
SIFTING SCREEN MESH
Source: Patterson Bros.
15 Park Row, New York, N. Y.
or local dealers,
SNAPLINES
Source: Hardware stores
SPONGES
Small face sponges.
Source: Drugstores
Sponges foj the trade.
Source: Painter's supply houses
SPRAYERS
Hand sprayers.
Source: Hardware stores
STRAIGHT EDGES
Beveled 45" long.
Source: Tailor's supply houses
Plasterer's 6" long, straight grained board T/ " x g" w
Source: Lumber yards
119
SHINGLES SUITABLE FOR FLOATS
Source: Lumber yards
TROWELS
"The Xtralite Finishing trowel" sizes 4x12 and 4x14 Brown-
ing trowels, pointing trowels, hawks, float handles.
Source: Marshalltown Trowel Co.
Marshalltown, Iowa
Hardware stores
WATERLEVELS
Source: Hardware stores
WATERPROOFING
Toch Bros. RIW asphalt waterprooing and
marine cement.
Building materials supply or lumber yards.
WAX
Yellow beeswax.
Source: Drugstores and chemists supply houses
VENETIAN TURPENTINE
Source: H. Behlen and Bros.
10 Christopher St., New York, N. Y.
Eimer & Amend
633-35 Greenwich St, New York, N. Y.
120
INDEX
Acid, 3, II!
Air, 60, 103
Air bubbles, 4, 28, 31, 35,41
Alcohol in grinding, 62
Alcohol lamp, 97
Alizarin madder, 51, 87
Ancient practice, time, tradition,
reputation, 3, 33, 5557, 72, 93, 95
Arenato, 33
Arricciato, 33
Artgum, 104
Asphalt, varnish, waterproofing, 3 6, I
11
Atlas stainless white cement, 13, 27, 95
Bags, 14, 15
Banksand, 13, 41
Barrels (see steel drams)
Binders, 5355, 85, 102
Black, 53, 54, 87, 92, 93
Blanc fixe, 52, 58
Blanket, 46
Bleaching of lime, 10, 58, 88
Blotting paper, 103
"BlowsanjT, 15
Bluepencfl markings, 45
Blue, 53, 56, 87, 92, 93
Bond, 4, 68, 76
Bonepoint, 47
Bricks, 3, 14, 58, 60, 61, 71, 89, 108
Brick cleaning, 3, 111
Brick walls, 3, 26, 37
Bristle, white, grey, 64, 87, 102
Bristle brashes, 58, 59, 64, 87, 98
Brown coat ''browning", 19, 27, 28,
33, 36, 37, 87
Brown paper, 96, 108
Brown, 52, 68
Brown ocher, 52, 68, 69
Brashes, 38, 39, 59, 62, 63, 69, 71,
74, 77, 87, 89, 91, 98, 102, 111
Buckets, 17, 19, 22, 30, 40, 58, 66,
91,111,113
Building paper, 108
Burnt ocher, 52
Burnt green earth, 52, 55
Burnt sienna, 52, 54, 6870, 86
Burnt umber, 52, 55
Butanol, 42
Cadmiums, 52, 57, 6870
Cadmium orange, 52, 57
Cadmium red, brilliant, deep, 52, 57,
6870
Cadmium yellow, 52, 57, 68, 70
Camel's hair brash, 99
Canning jars, 62
Canvas, 43
Caput mortuum, 52
Carbonization, 10, 17, 32, 36, 40, 41, 66,
90, 93, 94, 104
J, Cartoon, 44 46, 91
Casein, 87, 93, 94
Catchboards, 25, 35
Caustic lime, 103
Ceilings, 26
Celluloid, 73
Cellulose tape, 59, 96
Cellophane, 66, 73
Cement, 4, 13, 14, 27, 36, 37, 55, 95
Cementing agent, 106, 107
Cerulean blue, 53, 56
Chalk, "chalking", 45, 48, 97
Channel iron, 6
Charcoal, 45, 4749, 74, 91
Charcoal black, 53, 54
Charcoal holder, 65
Checking, 28, 31, 89
Chiaroscuro, 72
China plates, 65
Chinese vermillion, 58
"Chopping", 21, 35
Clay, 13, 14
Cleaning, 3, 5, 18, 102104, 112
32, Coal-tar colors, 51, 55
Cobalt blue, 5254, 56, 68, 69
Cobalt green, 87
Cobalt violet, 54
Coffee cups as color pots, 60, 65
72, Cold black, 54
Cold-warm, 92
89, Color, 12, 13, 16, 32, 33, 39, 41, 43, 45,
48, 5053, 5557, 5962, 64, 65,
6775, 77, 8793, 95, 101106, 111
Color box, 111
Color chart, 59
Color grinding, 61
Color-houses, 52
Color matching, 76, 101, 102, 105
121
Color mixing, 60, 105
Color, paste, 62
Color pots, 65, 71, 94, 101, 105, 111
Color sketch, 43, 44, 68, 98
Containers, 9, 62
Contour, 64, 7477
Copper nails, 95
Core, 95
Cottage cheese, 93, 94
Cotton, 99
Covering, 108110
Cracks, cracking, 6, 9, 28, 31, 41, 50, 51,
91, 104107
Crocks, 58, 59, 65
Cutters (see Brushes)
Cut-tip lettering brash (see Brashes)
Cutting the contour, 39, 75, 76
Damage, 16, 105, 108
Dark ocher, 53, 91
Dead air space, 4
Depth, 10, 32, 33, 51, 54, 56, 66, 67, 70,
72, 73, 92
Detail paper, 44
Dirt, 95, 96
Discoloration, 55
Distilled water, 58, 62
Drainage, 11
Drawing, 44, 45, 4749, 68, 71, 74, 78,
88, 91, 92
Drying, 15, 17, 31, 40, 57, 58, 68, 89, 90,
9496, 99, 101, 103, 105, 107, 110
Drying platform, 1 5
Dust, 49, 65, 74, 89, 94, 102, 103, 108
"Dusting", 47, 50, 78, 98, 102104
Dusting brush, 89
Dutch painting, 64
Earth colors, 55, 56
Efflorescence, 3, 4, 18, 32, 103
Elastic covers, 65
Emery paper, 38
Enameled plates, 65, 71
English red, 52
Eraser, 104
Erasure, 83, 85, 104
Expansion bolts, 6
Expansion joints, 6
Eye lotion, 12
Fat, 21, 27, 28, 32, 33, 90
"Fat" over "lean" rule, 21, 33, 37, 90
Felt, 107
Fiber, 27, 36
Filler, 32, 36, 5557
Finishing intonaco, 29, 36, 38, 4951, 68
Finishing nails, 108
Finishing trowel, 22, 27, 31, 38, 39, 49,
73,77
Fitches (see Brushes)
Fixative atomizer, 103
Fixing, 103
Floating, 7, 30, 32, 36, 4042, 49, 50,
51, 68, 76, 77, 87, 89, 90
Floats, 17, 29, 41, 42, 49, 50, 91
Floats, carpet, cork, felt, 29
Flour paste, 102
Foundation color, 8890, 92
Faults, 31, 91
Frames, 6, 103
Fresco brushes (see Brushes)
Freezing, 12, 17
Funnels, 66, 98
Furring, 5, 7
Furring strips, 5 7
Furring walls, 4, 8
Furrow in sand drying, 15
Gesso, 33
Gesso grosso, 33
Gesso sotili, 33
Gilder, 96
Gilding, 96, 98, 99
Glass, slab, 49, 61
Glazing, 51, 53, 55, 56, 69, 70, 72, 74
Gloves, 18
Glue color, 57, 71
Goat's hair, 27, 36, 64
Goat's hair brushes (see Brushes)
Gold, 9699
Gold-book, 98
Golden ocher, 53
Gold leaf, 97100
Gouache color, 43, 57, 71
Gravel, 11, 12
Green, 52, 56
Green earth, 52, 56, 57, 68, 69, 91, 92
Grey, 13, 44, 54, 57, 61, 69, 72, 75, 78,
88, 91, 95
Grease, greasy, 93, 104
Grease pencil, 19
Grinding, 55, 58, 61, 62, 71
Grinding slab, 58, 61
Grit, 13, 59, 108
Ground, fresco, 3, 8, 13, 18, 3133, 36,
37,40,44,45,59,70,74,95,109,110
Grounded canvas, 30
Guiding lanes, 24, 25
Gypsum, 10,13, 14, 18,29
Halftone (see passage tone)
Handsprayer, 65
Handrest, 66
122
Hardening, 18, 27, 37, 40, 41, 50, 92,
9597, 99, 100
Hardwood handles, 27, 29
Hatching, 70
Hawk, 21, 23, 49, 95
Herringbone pattern, 25
High lights, 68
Highcalcium lime, 9, 17
Hightening of colors, 67, 71
Hoe, mortar mixing, 15, 17, 18, 21
Holes, 104, 105, 108
Hollow tile, 4, 26, 34, 37
Hollow tile walls, 4, 26, 34, 37
"Hooks", 26, 27
"Horses", building trade, 1 5
"Hot lime", 9
Humus, 55
Hydrated lime, 9
Hydrochloric acid, 3
Imprinting of the pounce, 47, 50, 68, 78
"Improvements", 104
Indoors, 53
Monaco, 12, 14, 15, 22, 32, 33, 3843,
45, 47- 50, 54, 60, 62, 67, 68, 7378,
98, 103, 104, 109, 111, 113
Insulation, 91
Iron oxides, 54, 55, 57
Italian fresco brushes (see Brushes)
Italian renaissance, 70
Ivory black, 53, 54, 68, 69, 88, 91
Jars, 62
Joining, 48, 75, 77
Joints, 4, 49, 76, 89
Key, 28, 31, 36
Labels, 62, 105
Lanes, 24, 25
Lanes in cleaning, 104
Lard, 12
Leaks, 83
Lean, 21, 33, 36
Lean, fat, 21, 33, 37
Leveling, 24, 35, 36
Light, highlights, 60, 99, 113
Light red, 52, 88, 92
Light, reflected, 67, 69, 70
Lime, 914, 1721, 2628, 3033,
35, 40, 42, 51, 53, 54, 5661, 65,
66, 68, 71, 72, 74, 76, 8794, 103,
104, 108, 111
Lime box, 912, 20
Lime burns, 12
Lime, caustic, 95
Lime dust, 16
Lime painting, 14, 32, 42, 56, 58, 60, 61,
64, 65, 71, 72, 8794
Lime pits, 11
Lime proof, 51, 53, 57
Lime putty, 9, 17, 20, 58, 88, 93
Lime-sand, 3, 7, 31, 36, 51, 74, 87, 95
Lime skin, 32, 40, 68, 76
Lime slaking, 9 12
Lime-wash, 8790
Lime-wash brush, 87, 88
Lime water, 93, 94, 103
Lime, unslaked, 11, 12
Linen, screen, 47, 103
Liners (see Brushes)
Linseed oil, 6
Loam, 13, 14
Lump lime, 9
Madder lakes, 51
Magnesia, 9
Marble, 61
Marble dust, 13, 15, 32, 36, 37, 40, 50,
105, 106
Marble meal, 13, 15, 32, 36, 37, 40
Mars, brown, 87
Mars, colors, 53, 55
Mars, orange, 87
Mars, violet, 53, 55
Mars, yellow, 53, 55, 91
Mesh, 15, 19, 33, 35, 36, 40, 59, 88
Metal lath, 5, 7, 8, 15,27,28,36
Metal palette, 65
Metal roller, 72
Mica, 14
Middletone, 54
Milk of lime, 52, 57, 58, 60, 71, 91, 92
Mixing box, 17 22
Mixing table, 36
Mixing trowel, 23
Mixture, 17, 19, 31, 35, 36, 53, 56, 57,
62, 65, 66, 69, 71, 89, 90, 93, 95, 106,
110
Modeling, relief, painting, 68, 69, 92, 95
Modeling tools, 95
Moisture, 4, 62, 67, 69, 76, 91, 95, 98,
103, 105, 110
Mortar, 3, 4, 9, 11, 1214, 18, 2029,
31, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 42, 48, 74,
95,96, 104, 105,109, 111
Mortar box, 15, 110
Mortar mixing, 12, 14, 17, 40
Mortar and pestle, 61
Mortar spattering, 26, 27
Moulder's tools, 39, 96
Movable panels, 6, 7, 40, 48, 58
Muller, 58, 61
123
Mural, 3, 4850, 58, 66, 67, 74, 87,
90,94,98, 101104, 107,112
Nailheads, 95
Naples, yellow, 53, 57
Needle, 31
Newspapers, 109
Newsprint, 110
Normal series of colors, 53
Nozzle, vacuum cleaner, 102, 103
Ocher, 52, 55
Orange, 52
Outdoors, 60
Overpainting, 45, 5456, 72, 93, 94
Oxidation, 92
Oxide of chromium, 52, 56
Painting, 13, 14, 17, 33, 36, 3846, 48,
49, 51^56, 5862, 64, 6677, 87
96, 98, 101, 102, 104, 105
Palette, 23, 51, 53, 57, 60, 65, 68, 71
Palette knife, 62, 97
Panels, 4, 12, 30, 33, 43, 50, 58, 59, 68,
75
Paper containers, 62
Paper bags, 9, 11
Paper funnel, 105, 106
Paper lengths, 45, 108, 109
Paper strips, 108
Parchment paper, 106
Partition walls, 4, 8
Passage tone, 54, 69
Paste, 108, 111
Pasting, 108
Patch, 54, 101, 105
Patching, 41, 85, 101, 102, 105
Piecemeal cleaning, 103
Piecemeal plastering, 49, 50
Perforating, wheel, needle, 46, 47
Permanent colors, 57
Permanent white (see Blanc fixe), 6
Pestle, 61
Pigments, 43, 5262, 74, 87
Pigment testing, 59 61
Pinholes, 4, 32, 106
Pits, 1113
Planks, 110, 112
Plaster coats, 3, 27, 31, 33, 103107
Plastering, 2224, 28, 29, 31, 38, 67, 70,
74, 76, 79, 82, 83, 101, 108110
Plasters, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 43, 76, 112
Plumbing bob, line, 25, 44, 45, 48
Plywood, 60
Pockets in plaster, 28, 35
Pointing trowel, 23, 39, 72, 77, 95
Polychrorning, 96
124
Portland cement, 4
Pots (see color pots)
Pottery waste, 35
Pounces, 46, 47, 49, 91
Pouncing, 47, SO, 67, 78, 91, 9597
Pouncing bag, 47, 78
Powdered lime, 9
Pre-mixing, 27, 71, 94
Profiles, 96
Protection of eyes, arms, hands, 12
Protective varnish, 99, 100
Puddle box, 17, 20
Puddler, 20
Putty lime (see lime putty)
Pulley, 113
Purple, 69
Quick lime, 9
Quartz, 13, 41
Rags, 104
Raw sienna, 87
Raw umber, 52, 54, 87, 88
Red earths, 55
Red ocher, 55
Reflecting surface, 10
Relief, 9598
Remixing, 21, 22, 35, 39
Refinishing, 51
Renovator, 104
Repairing, 3, 4, 83, 102, 104107, 111
Restoring, 94
Retarder, retarding, 28, 42
Retouching, 51, 75, 94, 101, 102, 104
Retoucher, 101
Roof shingle, 29
Roofing nails, 7
Roofing paper, 16, 108
Rolling, roller, 72
Rope, 113
Rose madder, 98
Rubber cement, 106
Rubber erasers, 104
Rust spots, 22, 39
Sable brushes (see Brushes)
Safety glasses, 12, 18
Samples, 58, 60, 71, 89
Sand, 1120, 2628, 32, 35, 41, 50,
103, 105
Sand drying, 15
Sand finish, 19, 26, 29, 32, 33, 3638,
42, 49, 68, 76, 77, 8789, 91
Sand-lime, 3, 7, 29, 95, 105
Sand-paper, 47
Sand particles, 17, 26, 35, 39, 41, 89, 102
Sand, sharp, round, wedge-like, 13, 14
Sand shifting, 18, 19
Sand testing, 16
Sand washing, 14 16
Scaffold, 43, 107, 110, 112,113
Scenic painter's brushes (see Brushes)
Scotch tape, 97, 106
Scratching, 25, 27, 28, 31, 36, 37, 95
Scratch coat, 13, 15, 2528, 32, 33, 37,
87
Scratch comb, 2528, 31, 37
Scratches, 104
Screens, 15, 19, 33, 103
Sealer, 32, 33
Secco, 33, 51, 95101, 95, 96, 101104
Setting, 12, 23, 2628, 36, 39, 40, 42,
49, 5357, 64, 66, 6972, 74, 76, 92
Sewing needle, 41, 46
Sequence, 55, 67, 68, 93
Shadows, 56, 57, 67, 6971, 76, 92
Sheet, 74
Shingles (see Floats)
Shovels, 17, 19
Showcard brush (see Brushes)
Sieve, 20, 58, 59, 88, 106
Sifting, 15, 18, 19, 33, 41
Sifts, 18, 33
Silicate potash, solution, 101, 102
Silver, 96, 98100
Silverleaf, 98
Sketch, 43, 44, 91
"Skimcoat", 28, 36, 37, 40, 41, 49, 68,
74, 76, 77
Skim milk, 93
Skim cream, 12
Slaking box, 10
Snapline, 45, 49
Soaking, 21, 28, 35, 37, 49, 103
Soot, sooty, 51, 54, 55, 104
Spatula, 62
Spattering, 26, 30, 35, 37, 109
Split-point brush (see Brushes)
Sponge, 40, 58, 65, 96, 103, 105, 110
Spots, hard, 30, 41, 74, 77, 89, 91, 101
103
Sprayer, 35, 106, 107
Spraying, 12, 2628, 36, 37, 40, 42, 49,
51, 78, 89, 103, 110, 111
Stainless white cement, 13, 27, 36
Starch paste, 110
Steel drums, barrels, 9, 11, 17, 88, 93
Steel from trowels, 41, 77
Steel scaffold, 113
Step by step explanation, 48, 49, 59, 68,
69, 77, 87, 91
Steps, stepladder, 113
Sterno, 97
Storage, 10, 11, 62, 91
Storage jars (see canning jars)
Strainer, 89
Straightedge, 24, 25, 35, 74, 98
Streaks, 30, 51, 53, 64, 103
Suction, 26, 29, 50
Sulphate of barium (see Blanc fixe)
Sulphur, 104
Support, 106, 107
Surface, 13, 14, 17, 25, 2833, 3841,
4751, 54, 62, 64, 67, 68, 70, 72,
7389, 91, 9395, 97, 98, 102107
Surfacing, 30, 33, 50, 91
Sweeping, 89, 108, 110
Swedish fresco brashes (see Brashes)
Syringe (see Sprayer)
Table, 21, 22, 27, 39, 49, 113
Tapping the surface, 31
Tarpaulin, 110
Technique, 43, 56, 57, 59, 65, 67, 68, 71,
72, 74, 87, 88
Technician, 102
Tempera, 43, 67
Terra di Pozzuoli, 52, 55
Terra Rossa, 52, 55 *
Terra Sienna, burnt, raw, 52
Terra di Treviso, 52, 55
Terra verde (see green earth)
Tests, 40, 55, 58, 5961, 71, 101, 103,
105
Testing panel, 38, 43, 48, 59, 60, 75, 91,
101
Test tube, 60
Texture, 31, 41
Throwing, mortar, 22, 26, 27, 3537
Tie wire, 7, 28
Tile, 4, 1315, 31, 35, 37, 66, 85
Tin can, 89
Tonality, 10, 32, 54, 68, 80, 84, 86, 96
Tone, 13, 31, 38, 39, 44, 45, 51, 5357,
62, 6771, 7981, 84, 85, 93, 94
Toning, 72
Tools, 1618, 22, 39, 76, 77, 79, 87, 88,
94, 103
"Tooth", 38, 41, 50, 82, 83
Touching up, 93
Tracing, 4447
Tracing paper, 45, 68
Transfer of drawing, 42, 47, 78
Transparency of lime, 10, 12, 13, 17, 23,
24, 27, 31, 35, 38, 57, 71, 81
Trowels, 12, 13, 17, 23, 24, 27, 31, 35,
38, 39, 40, 42, 65, 72, 77, 97
Troweling, 30, 33, 39, 41, 50, 60, 66, 68,
72, 73, 77, 78
Trullisatio, 33
Tube colors, 52
Tumblers, 65
Umber, raw, burnt, 52, 54, 91
Undercoating, 28, 36, 40
Underpaintirig, 55, 56, 68, 69, 74, 87, 92,
93
Ultramarines, 53, 104
Ultramarine blue, 53, 54, 98
Ultramarine red, 53, 54, 98
Ultramarine violet, 53, 54
Vacuum cleaner, 102
Value, color, 32, 33, 45, 5457, 94, 102,
104, 105
Vaseline, 18
Venetian red, 52, 6870
Venetian turpentine, 97, 98
Verdure, 56
Vermillion red, 57, 98
Veronese green earth, 56, 57
Vert emeraude, 52, 54, 56, 6870
Vine black, 53, 54
Vibration, vibrato, 90
Violet, 53, 56, 79
Vitruvius, 33
Walls, 36, 8, 2226, 30, 31, 3537,
44, 49, 51, 91
Wall brush, painters, 77
Wallpaper cleaner, 104
Warm black, 54
Washing, pigments, 55
Washing, sand, marblcmcal, dust, 14 16,
33,44
Water colors, 67
Water color brushes (sec Brushes)
Water hose, 10, 12,15,35, 113
Water level, 24, 25, 35, 45, 48, 51
Water, proofing, 3 8
Waterproofed paper, 110
Wax; 9799, 108
Wax gilding, 9698
Waxing, 9799, 109
Waxpot, 97
Wet hay, 27
Wet sheet, 27, 74
"Wet in wet", 71, 89
Wetting, 18, 26, 28, 35, 36, 39, 74, 77,
81, 93, 95, 105
Wetting brush, 30, 49, 77, 95
Wheelbarrow, 17, 18, 110
Whiskbroom, 110
White, 52, 54, 57, 58, 60, 71, 72, 88, 89,
93, 94, 96, 103
White bread, 91, 104
White-wash, 90
Whiting, 71
Wood lath, strips, 7, 108110
Wrapping paper, 44
Yellow, 52, 53, 68
Yellow beeswax, 97
Yellow ocher, 52, 56, 6870, 88, 91, 92
126
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